Spirited Away 2: A Mermaid's Tale
by WhiteTiger246
Summary: Life is full of surprises; everywhere you turn there's one just waiting to come up and embrace you. After waiting four years for Haku to make an entry, Chihiro gets a little surprise of her own. But, after dealing with it, and the agonizing wait for three more years, at the age of seventeen, Chihiro returns, only to find old friends, new friends and a new foe.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Chihiro's "Fish Tale"

Ever since her little run through the Spirit World, Chihiro Ogino's life never seemed the same. But, at the age of fourteen, that's when things started getting really, shall we say, "fishy".

Two years after moving into their new home, little Chihiro tragically lost her parents in a traffic accident. It was a hard time for her, and during that time, she was hoping for Haku to come for her, comfort her and take her back to the Spirit World. But, he never came. Not even a sign of his presence.

For the next the two years, Chihiro lived with her grandmother in a small cottage that was not far from the house Chihiro lived in with her mother and father. She didn't mind; her grandmother accepted, listened and cared for Chihiro when no one else would. School never seemed a problem for Chihiro; she had a few friends, but not like Lin, Kamaji, Zeniba, and Haku. Chihiro still hoped that Haku would keep his promise he had made four years ago.

However, at age fourteen, she's going to get the biggest discovery of her life.

It's Friday night and Chihiro's just sitting in her small, dark teal colored room, listening to music. She gave up day-dreaming on her bed, went over to the small bookcase underneath the window and took out a book. The title of one book read "Ancient Mythology". She flipped open the book to a random chapter that was titled "Mermaids". It seemed to catch her interest, but lost. Chihiro sighed as she tossed the book on her bed, grabbed a light blue jacket and went downstairs. She entered the small yellow kitchen and wrote a note for her grandmother that said, "Went for a walk, be back soon."

It was already getting dark and a full, silver moon was rising from the horizon. The young girl took a deep breath, feeling relaxed as the cool breeze splashed on her maturing face.

"It's so peaceful, so quiet. It reminds me of Swamp Bottom." Chihiro said to herself. Coincidently, the area did look somewhat similar to Swamp Bottom, a little bit of wetlands with some grassy areas here and there.

Even more memories of the Spirit World appeared as the crickets and frogs joined together in an orchestra.

Chihiro continued with her walk until she saw it. There it was. It looked like a pond, only bigger and deeper.

"Wow, I never knew this was here." said Chihiro

Her feet were killing her, so she decided to rest on a rock by the "pond". It was officially nighttime now and the moon was high over head. Just when she was about to head back, Chihiro could have sworn she saw a glimmering blue light shine from the "pond".

She leaned over to get a closer look and that's when it happened. The moment that changed her life forever. As she leaned in closer, her foot had slipped on the slippery grass, making her fall straight into the water.

There was a flash of blue light, the sound of thrashing water and Chihiro felt a slight tingle from her lower waist and all the way to her toes. Then, everything went black.

After a constant struggle with her vision, she had finally managed to awaken.

"Ok, what was that? Man, do I feel funny. And, did it just get awfully breezy all of a sudden?" Chihiro mumbled.

Chihiro looked down to a complete shock. She let out a big scream, hoping that she would wake up again, but this time in her bed. It didn't work. In front of her was a leg length aquamarine colored mermaid tail!

What also stunned her to no end was that her jacket, shirt and bra had disappeared! Fortunately, her hair had grown in the strange transformation.

Chihiro went red in the face when she heard a soft, gentle chuckle. She turned to see her grandmother sitting beside her on the same boulder Chihiro had seen before.

"G-grandma, what-what's going on? W-why am I…?" Chihiro stuttered, having trouble finding the right words.

Her grandmother smiled warmly. "Seems you've had quite a night, my angel." she said. "But be calm, Chihiro. I know this is very shocking, but you'll get used to it."

Chihiro looked at her grandmother as if she had grown two heads. "What do you mean I'll 'get used to it'? Do you mean I'm stuck like this?" she cried.

"I'm afraid so, dear." Her grandmother sighed. "But, don't be upset; you don't know how proud I am!" she exclaimed.

Now Chihiro was confused. Why would her grandmother be proud of her now that she's a fish, a mermaid?

"What are you talking about, grandma? What is there for you to be proud of in this?" Chihiro asked, thinking her poor grandmother had finally lost it.

Her grandmother shook her head. "How 'bout I give you a little fill in, sweetie." she said.

"That would be nice." Chihiro said, sarcastically.

"Well," her grandmother began, "let's just say, this is merely just a little blood line inheritance. The reason your parents never knew is because it seemed to skip a generation. Your grandfather had deal with being a merman at your age. So, it's nothing to worry about." she said, happily.

"Not worry?" Chihiro cried, "How can you expect me not to worry when I'll never be able to walk on land again!" Her mind was in hysterics.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. You seem to misunderstand. When I said that you were stuck like this, I meant you're stuck having triggered mermaid blood. You can still have legs." Her grandmother corrected.

"That doesn't really make me feel any better, grandma." Chihiro rolled her eyes.

"Calm down, dear. Now, how this works, you have to be in water every full moon." her grandmother explained.

"Why?" asked Chihiro.

"You want to wake up in your bed with a tail?" her grandmother arched an eyebrow.

"Oh, right." Chihiro smiled, sheepishly.

Her grandmother continued instructions. "Also, what you need to know is to keep your legs dry. One drop, and out comes the tail." she said.

"Okay, anything else?" said Chihiro, who was still having trouble taking in her new life.

"Actually, yes; it's best if we keep this as our little secret. It would make life harder for you if this got out." said her grandmother.

Chihiro sighed, "Sounds like a plan. Also, two more questions. One, when do I transform back? Two, where are my clothes?" she asked.

Chihiro's grandmother smiled.

And, so begins Chihiro Ogino's new life as a mythical sea creature.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Gotcha!

After Chihiro left, life in the bath house was never the same, either, for any of the workers. Everyone seemed to have a better attitude about each other, even Yubaba. As for Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, or Haku, as everyone called him, he still worked in the bath house. Two reasons, he still owes a dept to Yubaba for all the magic secrets and spells he stole and it gives him something to do, other than rebuilding his river.

Even with his name, river, job and friends, Haku couldn't help, but feel empty and lonely without Chihiro. After awhile, the workers started noticing Haku's mopey behavior. Everyone was curious about what made him act in such a way, except Kamaji and Lin. Those two were the only ones who knew why. He loves Chihiro; that's all there is to say.

Haku didn't tell anyone about his feelings for Chihiro; he just wanted to keep it to himself. Secondly, because he was slightly oblivious about it, himself; he merely just thought it was just a simple crush. Even though she was only ten, he still could feel the urge to see Chihiro again and keep his promise.

Now, four years after, Haku's feelings for Chihiro have grown, as well as his urge to see her again. Also, over the years, the other workers realized the reason why he's always been showing a new sign of himself, even if he hadn't. And soon, they started using it to their advantage.

One afternoon, Haku was organizing paper work in his office.

"Hey, Master Haku! Master Haku!" cried the little green frog as hopped over to the dragon.

"Yes, is something wrong?" said Haku, concern dripping from his slightly deeper voice.

The frog shook his head. "No, it's Sen, she's returned!"

Haku's heart froze and his mind buzzed. "What? She has? Where is she? When did she get here?" he asked, excited to hear the news.

He darted past the frog, knocking him down with a huge gust of wind. Haku's mind was flooding with thoughts. When he reached the main floor, all he saw was a bunch of the other workers pointing and laughing at him. Haku just stood there like an idiot when the foreman jumped up and yelled "Gotcha!"

Haku's cheeks went aflame, but he stood straight and tall, keeping his stance at its usual appearance of dignity and pride.

"Hey! C'mon! Leave 'im alone!" screamed a familiar voice.

It was Lin. She, Kamaji and Yubaba were the only ones who never thought the jokes were funny.

Everyone went back to their jobs. They feared Lin when she caught on their pranks.

Lin walked up to Haku and patted him on the back. "You alright?" she asked, she felt sorry the dragon boy.

"Yeah," he said, feeling ashamed that he fell for that stupid joke.

"No, you're not. I can tell by your cheeks. They look like baby tomatoes." said Lin.

It made Haku's embarrassment go up. But, she's right, he wasn't alright. He missed Chihiro a lot! He wanted her back, badly!

As if she had read his mind, Lin said "I'm sure we'll see her again."

Haku sighed "I hope you're right."

Lin smiled and left him alone. She walked away with a frown. "I hope I'm right, too."

She made her way to an elevator and pulled on the lever that opened the doors. She walked in and pulled the lever down; the elevator slid its way downwards. When it stopped with a ding, the doors opened to show a room that looked to be almost the inner workings of all the elevators. Lin walked in with no surprise and came to a small sliding door. She slid it open and wave of hot air brushed her slim face. In the hot room was an old man with six arms, frantically mixing herbs and working the boiler that heats the baths, all happening up on his little working perch. Below, carrying pieces of coal was what looked like a bunch of little black balls of soot, chucking the coal to keep the hot, hot furnace going.

Lin smirked. "Yo, Kamaji!" she cried.

"Eh?" the spider-like man turned to face her. His bushy eyebrows rose over his dark glasses. "Oh, Lin. What was all that commotion upstairs? Was it…?" he asked, already having a guess.

Lin put on a sad smile. "Yeah. Poor Haku; Sen better come back soon. You know, sooner or later, when they try to pull another prank like that again, that dragon is gonna snap!" Lin shivered at the thought. Kamaji chuckled. "Heh, when he does, come and get me; I'll be up with the popcorn." he said.

"Okay, that's just evil." Lin said, rolling her eyes.

Back with Haku, he had returned to his office, sulking. He was too ashamed and humiliated to face the other workers after being pranked, again.

"Please Chihiro," Haku whispered "return to me soon. All your friends miss you."

Little did he know, his wish will be granted in a matter of time, along with a few more little surprises.


	3. Chapter 3: Chihiro's Return

Chapter 3: Return of Chihiro

It's been three years since Chihiro found out about her 'blood-line inheritance'. She is now seventeen and has grown very beautiful over the years. She has taken the height of 5'10, quite tall for her age. Her height isn't the only thing that had changed, for the days of being a flat chest of a ten-year-old were replaced with a size D cup, as well as having developed a healthy hourglass figure and pearly, pale skin. She still had the pretty dark brown hair she had as a child, though it had stretched down to Chihiro's lower waist. Her face had angelically slimed out and was ornamented with her warm, chocolate brown eyes. She was truly breath- taking.

Chihiro had the whole mermaid thing down pat and her grandmother was right, she had gotten use to it. She and her grandmother had come up with ways to keep it a secret. They've had her excused from swim class by saying her skin was sensitive and may be damaged from the chlorine. But, she did keep her keep her physical health up mostly from being gifted in gymnastics. Being a mermaid had some of its advantages on land for flexibility. Of course there was more than just that; Chihiro figured this out the hard way. Once, when some mean girls were picking on her in the lunch room, one of them had a glass of water with her and Chihiro had 'accidentally' turned the water boiling hot and commanded it to spit out at the girls. Nobody knew what happened and Chihiro played dumb; she may not have gotten in trouble with the school board, but she did get a good scolding from her grandmother.

Though, Chihiro wasn't a bad student. Her school work was certainly never a problem; she practically got straight A's. The one class she loved the most was music and she was also a fairly wonderful singer, yet another advantage. Chihiro amazed her teachers and peers.

Thanks to her little run through the Spirit World, Chihiro's classmates were bewildered by her mysterious, kind, and odd, yet charming, nature; especially most of the boys at her school. She had been asked out by those having the courage or cockiness to come up and talk to her, but she politely, and sometimes coyly, declined their requests. For, she was still waiting for a certain river spirit to make an appearance. Even with the life she had, Chihiro still never felt in place in the Human World, for various reasons.

Though, it was seven years ago, Chihiro still hopes for Haku to keep his promise to see her again. Like Haku, Chihiro was oblivious about her feelings for him, and even if she wasn't, she still never got her hopes up about him having the same feelings in return, anyway. How could he? All he sees and is suppose to see her as is nothing, but a human. Even though, she was more than what she seemed, comparing him, a powerful river **and **a dragon, to her, a silly mermaid, who is hidden in world where those around her can't understand. They were of different ranks; it could never work out. Or, at least that's what she always told herself.

Never the less, Chihiro still wanted to Haku again, as a friend, along with all the other friends there, which she missed dearly.

Little did **she** know, she was about to get **her** wish.

Chihiro was in her same bedroom, sitting on her bed while waiting anxiously. "It's almost that time again." she said to herself, fiddling with the necklace her grandmother gave her. It looked to be made out of pirate's gold in the shape of a coin with a mythological pictures of a mermaid engraved on it. Attached below it was what looked like melted shiny metal, formed to be long and skinny with a pearl on the end. It was a family era loom; she kept it close.

Chihiro, now, actually looked forward to the night of the full moon; it gave her time to just let loose and be care-free. The rushing coolness of water caressing her hair and combing through her hair gave her sense of serenity. It reminded her of the Spirit World, her true home.

"Chihiro! It's time!" her grandmother called.

"Okay!" Chihiro called back. She rushed downstairs in navy blue shorts, a grey cami-top, her falling free down her back and bare footed.

The sun was just beginning to set; she had plenty of time to get to the 'pond' by the house. But, tonight, her grandmother had different plans.

Since, Chihiro's grandmother had been the only one who knew of Chihiro's adventure, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

As Chihiro began to leave, her grandmother stopped her. "And, just where do you think you're going?" she said, slyly.

"Where else?" Chihiro asked, cocking an eyebrow.

With a sad smile stretched across her face, gently, her grandmother said "Not tonight."

"Huh?", Chihiro was confused; it was always the same drill: go to the 'pond' and stay there, then come back in the morning. Why the sudden change?

"Just come along, dear." There was a sad pitch in her grandmother's voice.

"Grandma is something wrong?" asked Chihro.

She heard a small sniffle. "Don't worry, dear. Please, just get in the car" said her grandmother.

Chihiro got in the old Volx wagon. She always loved in that when she was young; it helped her sleep, where she would dream of the Spirit World. Laughing and cleaning tubs with Lin, chatting with Kamaji in the boiler room, having tea with Zenida and No-face, and, of course, soaring through the sky with Haku.

The sun was setting and the sky began to blend its color of night and day; Chihiro was starting to run out of time. She didn't know what it was like to ride in a car with a fish tail, but she sure didn't want to.

"Grandma, what's going on? Where are we going?" she asked.

Her grandmother sighed, but not removing her attention from driving. She knew how curious Chihiro could get sometimes. "Chihiro, dear, are you happy here?"

Chihiro was shocked, but she pondered over the question. Was she happy? If she, personally, had to say, she'd say "Not really. It's nothing about you, Grandma. I really love you; you're like a mother to me, but it's just…" she was at a loss at what to say.

"I know, dear. It's been hard for you to relate here. Which is why I have been feeling there's another place that's better for you." said her grandmother.

Chihiro gasped. Is her grandmother saying what she thinks she's saying? She looked out the open window and saw the little stone shrines she had seen she first entered the Spirit World.

"Grandma," she said.

"Deary, both you and I know it's time. That place is your home." her grandmother said, sadly.

Chihiro's eyes widened. "But, what about you? I can't just leave you! All alone in that house, will you be alright?" asked Chihiro, hardly believing what was happening.

"Oh, I'll be fine! Don't you worry." said her grandmother bravely. Even though she wanted her granddaughter to stay, she also wanted her to be happy as well; it was still hard to say good bye. After passing the strange Buddha statue, they reached old entrance and another Buddha statue, which both looked even more aged as it did last time with the entire over-grown plantation.

They both got out of the car, both standing in front of one another; Chihiro towered over her grandmother. She looked close to tears, for, she was happy that she was able to return to the place she called home, but she love her grandmother and was going to miss her.

Chihiro couldn't contain it any longer; she gave her grandmother a big hug as tears slid down her cheeks. "Thank you, Grandma, for everything. I'll miss you everyday." she whispered

They broke apart. "As will I with you, my little angel-fish. Take care and good luck with that Haku boy, you like." her grandmother said, winking.

Chihiro's cheeks went rosy red. "Grandma," she whined, "he's just a friend!"

Her grandmother rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh, sure." she said. "Oh, before you go, here.

She handed Chihiro her sparkly purple hair tie, which Zeniba, No-face, Yu-bird, one of Yubaba's servants and Boh, Yubaba's gigantic baby son, had given her. She never wore it when it was time for her transformation; she didn't want to risk losing it in the water.

The sky was getting darker Chihiro needed to hurry and get to the river that would soon fill the lushes green fields.

"Are you sure?" Chihiro wanted to make sure her grandmother knew what she was doing.

Her grandmother nodded. "Yes, now you better hurry! The moon will rise soon and you need to find water for the night." she said.

With that, Chihiro ran through the tunnel, looked back and gave a last smile and wave, then continued. Her grandmother smiled, got back in the car and drove to live the rest of her life.

Chihiro ran faster, hoping she still had enough time before moonlight was visible. She could see dim light at the end of tunnel. On the other side, she found herself in the same room she had been in before with her parents. There were columns holding up the ceiling, a few benches and a water fountain. She was glad nothing had changed. She walked through, the cold feeling on her bare feet of the stone floor, and then made her way to the doorway that led to the fields. Her heart was beating fast, not from running, but because of the feeling of excitement that bubbled inside her.

When she was on the outside, there was barely any day light left and the river that separated one world from the other was more than half-way full. Chihiro strolled over to the edge of the water that slowly rising. There she stood, feeling both excited and disappointed. She was very excited to be back, but disappointed that she had to wait until morning to see everyone.

She took a deep breath, checked to see if anyone was around, then sighed. "Here I go again."

Splash! Chihiro had dived in the dark, opaque waters, which reflected the moonlight, completely. There was a rush of water, flashes of aqua blue light and that tingly sensation that Chihiro had come to enjoy. Then, it was over with silence.

Suddenly, out of the water flew a woman with such grace and a beautiful aquamarine mermaid tail. Flipping back down to the black waters below, Chihiro rose to the surface, sighing blissfully at having another perfect transformation. She just floated lazily on her back, going around in circles. Having her family's necklace and purple hair tie around her wrist, it was enough to have her feeling serene and calm.

A bright light of orange and red had caught Chihiro's eye; it was the spirit ferry boat, which carried many spirits to shore that she saw last time. As it glided across the water, Chihiro lowered herself deeper in the water to stay hidden. She gazed at it, remembering how scared she was when she first saw it and its passengers.

Well, she would soon have more memories of the Spirit World to look back on. Chihiro smiled at the thought of Haku and all her other friends waiting for her.

"I'm coming home." she whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Slave of the Boiler

The next morning was sunny and bright with white cotton clouds gliding slowly across the blue sky. In a wide meadow, unknown to those on the outside, there lay one of the very few who knew of its existence.

Chihiro awoke to see that the water of the river had vanished and that her tail had been replaced with long, slender legs. She stood dressed in the same clothes she had on the night before, then she looked around and it finally hit her. She's here; she's home! The Spirit World! Tears of happiness welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away. This was no time for that; she needed to get to the bath house. Chihiro turned and there it was; the so-called 'theme park' where the bath house was located. At first, she wanted to bolt up the concrete steps, through the shops and restaurants, find the bath house and see all her friends again. But, something told her that she should just walk and enjoy the beauty of the lushes green fields as she walked towards her home.

As Chihiro made her way to the steps, a couple problems snagged her mind. One problem was concerning her little fishy secret; what was she going to do? How was she going to keep it? Even more, should she keep it? She's in a world full of other creatures much stranger than she; there was no point in keeping it a secret anymore.

Chihiro smacked herself on the forehead. Of course she had to; she knew that! Her grandmother told her that it was so important; it was almost considered a sacred law. Any human family that contains some sort blood-line of a 'mythological' being must keep it from being known by others. Haku and Lin may be her best friends, but rules are rules.

Another problem was how was she going to keep it a secret? If she didn't, not only would bring great dishonor towards her family, but it's been known that some people see mermaids and many other creatures like her as good catches. If it got out that she was a mermaid, some people might look at her as a high price trophy. Chihiro thought about it for a moment. One thing's for sure, she couldn't work her old job with Lin again. It disappointed Chihiro, greatly; she liked her old job. But, it was sacrifice she just had to make. Being a maid meant you cleaned baths, which also meant there was a one in a million chance she might never get her feet or legs wet.

Maybe she can ask Yubaba, the witch who rules the bath house, for a different job.

Chihiro thought even more. There was full moon once every month; surely no one would notice her absence for such a short time, but what if they did? What if Yubaba noticed her being gone? What would she tell them? She cringed at the thought of lying to her friends, but, once again, rules are rules.

Chihiro sighed as she continued to make her way to the 'theme park'. She reached the large stone steps and, there, she smiled. It was where she and Haku had said good-bye and where he made his promise that he would to see her again. A promise **he** never kept.

Chihiro stopped in her tracks. A twinge of anger overcame upon her face. She was going to have to ask Haku why he never came.

She took a deep breath and relaxed, releasing the small feeling of anger. She was sure Haku had a good reason why he's been taking so long to visit her. Maybe it was his river; she remembered that it had been filled with apartments, so maybe he was busy taking care of it. One last problem came with her thoughts, what if Haku wasn't here anymore? He did say that he was planning on quitting last time she saw him; she hoped he would at least be there at the bath house as a costumer, so she can say hello to him.

Continuing on, Chihiro made her way, passing the many colorful and highly decorated restaurants. Most would think getting lost there would be easier than in a maze, but Chihiro knew the way to the bath house like the back of her hand.

The sound of her bare feet faintly slapping against ground came to a halt. In front of her were more stone steps with sign awaiting at the top that read "ABURAYA". When she made it to the top and turned to her right, there stood a beautiful, red and exquisitely gaudy designed bathhouse with green roofs and gold engravings that decorated the roof tops. The rice paper windows raddled from the force of the wind and hot steam rose from what looked be the open air bath area on the right side. On the left side of the building stood an extremely tall chimney with black gusts of smoke airily bleeding from the top. Chihiro stood right on the end of the crimson bridge that connected to the bath house, which seemed to be stranded from the other shops and the entire land.

She was overwhelmed. She could hardly believe it; she was actually here! So many emotions flooded into her heart. This time, she had only couple tears flow down her flawless cheeks before wiping them away. Chihiro calmly walked towards the railing of the bridge. She sighed happily; this was where she and Haku first met. Well, actually, she met him when she fell into his river as a little girl. He had saved her from drowning; she was eternally grateful to him for that. To think, it was all because she was trying to reach for her little pink shoe that she had dropped in his river. That was another question she had for Haku; what happened to that shoe?

As Chihiro gracefully continued to walk across the bridge, she thought that she might as well go to the one place she knew where attracting attention wasn't as risky; the boiler room. Memories began to appear in her mind: Haku's instructions for her to get a job from Kamaji, her first meeting Lin and facing Yubaba for a job. It made her wonder if it was going just a hard as last time.

She made heist until she reached the terrifying stairs that she had ran, screaming down. She giggled at that memory; she hadn't realized how ridiculous she must've looked. This time she was more careful, after all there was no railing. As she climbed down the steps, she noticed how quiet it was. It didn't surprise her; in the Spirit World, people slept during the day and roamed at night. That also bugged her a bit, how and where was she going to transform without being seen? She would figure this out later, right now she had other things to do.

Reaching the end of the staircase, Chihiro slowly opened the heavy door, hoping it wouldn't wake up anybody up from its screech. As she entered the room, the temperature increased, highly. She had forgotten how hot it was down there in the boiler room; she was fortunate enough that all she was wearing was her camisole top and shorts. When she reached the end of the hallway, looking through the large doorway, there she saw her old spider-like friend, Kamaji. Luckily, he was awake, so she wouldn't have to wait until sunset. He was just sitting there, up on his working perch, mixing herbs and completely unaware of his guest.

Chihiro wanted to say hi, but he may not recognize her right away, after all the last time he saw her, she was only ten. It was so long ago; she should be casual at first and see how it goes.

She took another deep breath. "Um…hello?" she said, shyly.

The boiler man slightly jumped and turned to face his intruder. "Eh?" he grunted through his bushy moustache.

He, then, glared at her through his dark glasses. "Who are you and what are you doing in my boiler room?" he growled.

Chihiro decided to have some fun. "Now, is that anyway to greet an old friend, Kamaji?" she snickered.

Kamaji looked at her as if she was insane. "What are you talking about? We've never met. I think I would've remembered someone as strange looking as you. And how do you know my name?" he asked.

Then, Chihiro got an idea. She sighed "I think this might help."

She pulled the purple hair tie from her wrist and tugged her long brown hair into a pony-tail, and then crouched down to her ten year old height and looked up at the boiler man, who was highly confused.

Chihiro spoke in an innocent voice. "Please, I gotta getta job here."

Kamaji watched her little act carefully and then it clicked. "Sen?" he breathed.

She smirked with nod. "I prefer Chihiro Ogino, but Sen is fine, too."

"Gracious, it's you!" he exclaimed happily as he rushed from his perch and engulfed her in a gentle hug. Chihiro returned the gesture.

When they broke the embrace, Kamaji gleefully said, "Welcome back, Se-, oh, Chihiro! Welcome back!"

She smiled. "It's good to be back, Kamaji." Chihiro replied calmly. "I've missed all of you dearly."

Kamaji smiled back. "We all missed you, as well, especially Haku."

Chihiro's eyes sparkled at this information, relieved that Haku had not forgotten her. It was one of her guesses about why he never came to her; she thought he had forgotten.

"Now," said Kamaji "let me take a look at you."

Chihiro blushed as the old man examined her new appearance.

"My word, how you've grown. One minute you're a little, skinny girl, the next, there is a beautiful young woman in front of me!" he said with gentle eyes.

The compliment only flustered Chihiro even more. She had always been self-conscious about her physical appearance. Thinking about that made her wish that she had a change of clothes that weren't so revealing.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Thanks, although, you look exactly the same as when I last saw you, so I can't return the compliment."

Kamaji brushed it off. "Nah, aging doesn't matter here, once you're full grown, age no longer matters."

Chihiro nodded; she had expected this. "So, how have you and everyone else been doing?" she asked, wanting to change the subject. She didn't want him to start thinking he was insulting her because she was 'human', or as far as he needed to know. And she didn't want to start lying to one of her friends already.

Kamaji had caught on to **most **of the problem and answered her question. "Oh, we're all fine here. Lin still works here as a maid and her attitude hasn't improved much, if at all.", he shook his head. For the sake of Haku's dignity, Kamaji purposely didn't say anything about all the practical jokes and pranks played on Haku, which had, luckily, stopped over the years.

Kamaji continued. "Basically, nothing has changed. Oh yeah, Haku still works here, by the way." he said as he returned to his post.

Chihiro was shocked. "He still works here? I thought he said he was going to quit. I mean, he has his name and river back, what reason could he have to…?" she trailed off.

Kamaji chuckled from his perch. "He may have his name and his home back, but that doesn't mean he has "anything else better to do", or at least that's what he says. If you ask me, I think it's because he would miss this place and, mostly, because if **you **ever came back, he'd be here for it.", he said with a sly smile.

Once more, Chihiro's cheeks were flaming red at Kamaji's expression.

"Y-you don't really that's the reason, d-do you?" she stuttered.

Kamaji laughed again. "Well, ya might not wanna take my word for it. Anyway, I'm sure you also want to say hi to Lin and get a job from Yubaba. So, you're more than welcome to wait down here for the bath house to open."

Chihiro smiled. "Thanks, Kamaji. I would love to hang out down here for awhile. How long do you think it might be?" she asked.

He just shrugged and went back to preparing the herbs. "Oh, probably not that long." Chihiro walked over the step up wooden part of the floor of the boiler room and sat on the edge. Nothing had changed; the walls were still made up of hundreds of drawers, the smell of crispy herbs and smoke, and in the little courtyard, where the little soot balls roamed, was still surrounded by little doorways for the Kamaji's little workers to escape in.

Kamaji eyed Chihiro as she took in the familiar surroundings, but something caught his sight; it was Chihiro's necklace. He was curious at the design. He had never seen a piece of jewelry like that before.

"Chihiro," he said "where'd you get that necklace? It's beautiful."

Chihiro looked at her necklace and took it in between her index finger and thumb. "Thanks. My grandmother gave it to me when I turned fifteen."

Kamaji kept staring at it, which made Chihiro nervous. She hoped he wouldn't put too much thought into it. Shrugging again, he went back to his herbs.

Chihiro leaned back against the wall, breathing peacefully. She was home.

After quite a good number of hours of chatting and catching up, a voice came from the small sliding door on Chihiro's right.

"Yo, Kamaji! It's time to get to work!" they called.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Sisters Reunited

Chihiro turned to face the speaker. There stood a woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She wore the same salmon pink bath house maid's uniform with her long dark brown hair lowly tied up at her waist.

A smile stretched across Chihiro's face. It was Lin. Just like she did with Kamaji, Chihiro thought it would be best to let Lin recognize her on her own at first and see how it goes. She watched as Lin handed Kamaji him his breakfast, along with a basket little candy stars for the soot balls.

"Alright, up and adam, ya little runts! Time for breakfast!" Kamaji called.

All the little balls of soot opened their eyes and scurried out of their small cubbies. They had spotted Lin with her basket and immediately got the memo of meal time. They all rushed over to her in a hungry mob, begging and squeaking for their treats.

Lin crouched down with her basket, took in a hand full of the candies and scattered them out for the soot workers to catch. It was then she finally noticed Kamaji's surprise guest.

Lin gasped. "A human! What are you doing here?" she said with narrowed eyes.

Chihiro didn't expect Lin to recognize her right away, so it didn't surprise her that Lin got annoyed. The Kamaji decided to have a little fun of his own.

"Lin, she's my granddaughter." he said, hoping Lin would catch on.

She looked at him confused. "What are you talking about, boiler man? I don't remember you saying anything about having a granddaughter since…" she trailed off.

Lin took another look at Chihiro, squinting hard. "Wait a minute. Sen? Is that you?" she breathed.

Chihiro ginned. "You figured it out faster than Kamaji."

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, my gosh! Sen!" Lin yelled, happily.

Chihiro laughed. "It's good to see you again, Lin."

Lin, then, pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Uh, Lin, this is very touching and all, but could you, uh, let me go. I can't breathe." Chihiro choked.

Lin smiled nervously let her out her death grip. "Oh, sorry, Sen. I guess I'm really glad to see you."

Chihiro chuckled as she rubbed her neck. "It's okay, Lin. Don't worry."

The two girls broke out laughing and sat down to start catching up.

"So, Sen what brings you back here?" Lin asked.

Chihiro sighed. "Well, let's just say I never really fitted in back in the Human World; you guys, this place changed me, in a good way, though."

Lin put on a sad face. "What do you mean? Did people pick on you? Didn't you have any friends?"

Chihiro smiled weakly and shrugged. "There were some people I conversed with at school and at my gymnastics class, but not like you guys."

Lin still had questions. "What about your folks?" she asked.

Opening her mouth to say something, Chihiro just sighed again. She looked down at her lap.

Lin noticed her despair. "Sen?"

Chihiro pulled herself together and answered. "My parents, they…" she paused trying to hold back her hidden tears "they died in a car crash when I was twelve." she said, quickly. Kamaji glanced back at the girls from his post with sad and shocked look.

Lin gasped. "Oh, Sen, I so sorry. I didn't mean…!" she stuttered.

Chihiro smiled weakly again and put a hand on Lin's shoulder. "Forget about it; it's okay." she said softly.

Deciding to change the subject, Lin said, "So, you do gymnastics; that's awesome! I'm guessing you're not that clumsy dope anymore, huh. Can you do flips and stuff like that?" she laughed.

Chihiro's smile grew bigger. "Yeah and it really helped meet keep a steady foot."

Lin nodded, but then Chihiro noticed that she, now, was just staring at her. It made her a little uncomfortable.

Chihiro cocked an eyebrow. "Uh, Lin," she said. "Is something wrong?"

Lin shook her head. "No, but I have one more question." she said seriously.

"Which is?" Chihiro smirked.

"When did you become so gosh darn gorgeous?" Lin cried.

"Huh?" Chihiro questioned.

Lin rolled her eyes. "Don't 'huh' me! I mean it! You've really filled out quite nicely. Unlike last time, man, you were a twig. No offence."

Chihiro just sighed again. "None taken."

Then, Lin smiled slyly. "Oh, boy, just wait 'till Haku gets a load of you. I think he'll be in for a big surprise." she said, wagging her eyebrows.

For the third time, Chihiro's cheeks burned. Lin, herself, had grown, since she looked no older than fourteen last time she was here, yet somehow she still didn't look all that different, so was it the same for Haku, too? Chihiro thought it might be better not to ask and find out for herself.

Lin broke her from her thoughts. "But, I'm serious, Sen, you really are pretty. If any of the guys start buggin' ya, just let me know and I'll pound 'em for ya!" she slammed her fist and palm together. Chihiro laughed; she was still the same old Lin, like a sister.

"Thanks, Lin. I'll keep that in mind." she said gratefully.

Lin stood up and brushed off her uniform. She walked over to Chihiro and offered her a hand to help her up. Chihiro graciously took it.

Once she fully stood, Lin's eyes widened. "Dang, girl! You're just as tall as me!" she exclaimed.

Chihiro realized that she was really the same height as Lin, if not taller.

She grinned. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But, little girls grow up, Lin."

Lin nodded. "Don't worry, I kinda figured that. Anyway, I'm sure that you want to see the old bat for a job. That is, if you're staying or not. You are staying, you know, for good, aren't you?" she asked hopefully.

Chihiro could see Lin and Kamaji had missed her more than she had missed them. She smiled. "Lin, of course I'm staying! Why wouldn't I?" she said happily.

Lin's face lit up as she started cheering. "Yay! Welcome to your new home!" she exclaimed.

"What wonderful news!" Kamaji said from his post.

The little soot balls squeaked and squealed as they danced around Chihiro's feet.

"Looks like you guys are just as excited as me." Chihiro giggled.

Lin soon realized something. "Oh, we have to go find Haku! He'll be ecstatic!" she cried.

She grabbed Chihiro's wrist, then started to drag her to the small sliding door, when Kamaji stopped her. "Wait, Lin!" he called.

Lin turned back at him. "What?" she whined.

"Haku left, remember? He had to go to his river." Kamaji said blandly.

"Oh, yeah." she sighed.

Chihiro was a little disappointed; she was hoping to see Haku when she first got there. Of course, her arrival was unexpected.

"Oh, well," Lin shrugged. "This can be like a little surprise waiting for him when he gets back. I can't wait to see the look on his face." she snickered.

"Don't make fun of him, Lin." Chihiro replied.

Lin rolled her eyes again. "In the meantime, let's get you a job. Hey, you wanna work your old job?" she asked.

Chihiro gasped. "No!" She held out her hands in defence.

Lin and Kamaji looked highly confused at her.

"Well, uh, it's not really up to me. That's Yubaba's choice. Heh, heh, heh." she laughed nervously.

Lin arched an eyebrow. "Sen, is everything alright?"

Chihiro sighed. "Totally! Everything is fine." she lied.

Everything was not fine. She didn't think of a way to convince Yubaba to give her a different job.

Lin shrugged. "Okay, if you're sure."

Chihiro plastered on a fake smile and nodded.

"Alright," Lin said. "Let's get going before things get busy."

Chihiro's smile turned real as she followed Lin to the little sliding door. She turned around before leaving. "Bye, Kamaji!" she said, bowing to him.

He stuck his thumb up for her just like last time. "Good luck, Chihiro."

And with that, Chihiro turned and followed Lin out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A Fishy Secret Kept

Chihiro continued following Lin to the elevator. Above, there were many ropes, pulleys and sandbags, all arranged for other elevators. It was slightly intimidating to see how far the ceiling was from the ground.

"Hey, Sen, hurry up!" called Lin.

Chihiro snapped out of her trance. "Coming!" she yelled back.

She rushed to the elevator doorway as the doors glided together. Lin pulled the lever up and the elevator went up, as well, and started moving it's quick pace.

As the elevator got higher, Chihiro could see through the blinds of the elevator wall that costumers were already arriving. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, it couldn't go any higher. Chihiro and Lin stepped out and went in search of another elevator.

While they continued their search, Chihiro heard whispers from the other worker and a few costumers.

A group of yuna, the women that greet and entertain guests, kept eyeing her suspiciously, like vultures, but kept the mouths covered with their fans and sleeves of their exposing kimonos.

"Who is she?" one of them hissed.

"I don't know, but just look at those clothes." another snickered.

Another shook her head in disapproval. "Why would anyone want to go out in public dressed like that?" said another woman.

"Doesn't she look a little familiar to you?" questioned another.

One yuna looked back at Chihiro, then back to her friends and nodded. "Yes, now that I look at her, she does seem to ring a bell."

"She kind of reminds me of…" another woman slowly looked to her friend and whispered. "Could it be her?"

The other shook her head. "No way, Sen was scrawny twig. This girl, I will admit, is much matured."

"You never know, she has the same hair color and style." The first yuna said.

Chihiro was a little uncomfortable with people watching and whispering about her, so she sped up her pace with Lin.

Lin noticed Chihiro was being watched and she glared at the yunas with a look that seemed to say, 'Leave her alone.'

The women stopped their gossiping and got back to work.

Lin looked back at Chihiro on her right side with smile. "Don't worry about them, Sen. They always get like that around pretty girls." she said reassuringly.

"Thanks, Lin." Chihiro replied.

As they walked through the bath house, Chihiro took in the surroundings. Yubaba obviously hadn't changed her tastes in architecture. Bright red columns held up each ceiling on every level, while green railings surrounded each balcony that made up a level in the pristine bath house. As Chihiro and Lin walked over one of the bridges that short cuts over to the other side of the floor, Chihiro was able to get a good look at the bathes below on the first floor. Many different spirits were enjoying their bathes and the service of the workers; some of the costumers were what looked like giant baby ducks or the Otori, others were like strange horrifying monsters that can only be found in nightmares, like the Ushioni, the Onama and the Kasuga. Chihiro even remembered the large radish spirit that had helped keep her hidden last time.

Then, the two girls finally reached another elevator. As it opened, they were fortunate that on one was in it, so they stepped in the elevator, looking exactly the same as the one before, and Lin pulled the lever up.

They kept going all the way to the top, where Yubaba lived. When they made it to the top floor, they found two similar, big red doors with two gigantic twin vases that looked like they cost a fortune sitting in between each door. Only Chihiro stepped out; Lin had to get back to work.

Lin smiled sadly. "Sorry, kiddo. If Yubaba sees me off duty, she'll throw a hissy fit. But, I'll meet up you later, okay?" she explained.

Chihiro nodded. "Alright, thank you, Lin," she said, bowing to her friend. Lin bowed back. They waved back at each other as the elevator doors closed.

Chihiro turned towards the red doors. This was it. She was in the same position as last time; she had to face Yubaba alone again. She calmly walked to the two identical doors. Chihiro knew which one was the doorway that leads to Yubaba's office; the one the right with the ugly talking door knocker that had scolded her for not knocking when she was ten. Chihiro never liked that thing.

As she walked up to the door, the knocker narrowed its eyes. "So, you're back," it said.

Chihiro kept a straight face. "Yup, and I see you're still here," she said in a fresh tone.

The knocker snorted. "And, I can see you shot up. Yubaba's waiting for you."

The two doors that made up to doorway swung open and a gruff voice said, "Come in."

Chihiro gracefully walked through the doorway and all the twists and turns that led to Yubaba's office. As she strolled through the same gaudy halls, Chihiro tried to settle her mind, which was in frenzy. What was she going to do? What if she doesn't get hired? What if Yubaba gives her the old job? What would she say? 'Yeah, I can't work my old job, since if I get wet; I turn into a mermaid, which is something I'm supposed to keep secret.' She can't do that; she'd sound like an idiot. Chihiro decided to just wing it.

The sound of doors opening brought her back to reality.

"Well, are you just going to stand there or am I going to have to pull you in again?" the same voice asked in annoyance.

She walked into the room. Just like the rest of the bath house it was incredibly gaudy; it had red carpeting, red walls and a lit fireplace.

Chihiro spoke. "That won't be necessary, ma'am." She stood in front of the fire with her back to it. Her shadow danced with the flames. In front of her was a wrinkly old woman with a huge head. The old witch certainly hadn't changed. The same royal blue dress, large jewelry and her grayish hair that looked like it was once blond was tied up in its neat bun.

Chihiro stood her ground firmly, showing that she wouldn't be playing games.

"Well, look what we have here," the old witch cackled as a smile stretched across her wrinkled face.

Chihiro smirked smugly. "Never thought I'd see you again, Yubaba."

Yubaba looked back down at the paperwork she had at her desk. "I'd say the same thing about you, Sen."

Chihiro glared at her. "It's Chihiro, thanks," she snapped.

Yubaba looked back up. "My, looks like you've gotten some guts over the years. Plus, you've certainly blossomed, as well," she said, noticing Chihiro's grown figure and form.

Chihiro just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay. Well, Yubaba, you probably know why I'm here."

Copying Chihiro's smug, Yubaba replied. "I have my guesses; you want a job, don't you?"

Chihiro was struggling to smile politely, so she falsely grinned. "That's really the only reason why I would be up here," she calmly shot back.

That's when Yubaba started getting tired of Chihiro's attitude.

She sighed. "Honestly, I would have hoped you would be happy to see me."

Chihiro thought it was time to end this battle of words and get a job already.

"Enough games, Yubaba. Can you please give me a job?" she asked impatiently.

That's when Yubaba had her. She could see the panic that bounced around in Chihiro's mind and from the minute she walked through the door, Yubaba could see why. The old witch had discovered her 'fishy' secret.

Yubaba cackled once again. "Why, Chihiro, you seem a little uneasy, is there something bugging you? A secret in jeopardy, perhaps?" she asked in a mocking voice.

Chihiro's eyes widened. "W-what? I don't have a-…"

"Don't try that with me, young lady." Yubaba interrupted. "Did you really think you could keep something like that from me?" she laughed.

Chihiro's head hung. She was in trouble now, of all the people to find out it just **had **to be Yubaba, the person she trusted the least. Well, she didn't exactly tell anyone, so it wasn't her fault; Yubaba figured it out somehow. But, how?

"My dear, Chihiro," Yubaba said in false compassion. "When you've been around as long as I have, you'll know a rare creature, such as yourself, when you see one."

Chihiro was starting to think that Yubaba just wanted to see her beg to keep her little secret, probably revenge for the whole No-face incident, when he went on a rampage through the bath house, causing a fortune's worth of damage to repair.

She suspected the old witch would still be mad at her, since it was Chihiro who let No-face in the bath house in the first place.

Yubaba continued with her taunting. "Oh, I wonder how the staff will react to such a surprise? You know how money-loving they can be."

Chihiro narrowed her eyes. "You are not to speak of this to anyone," she hissed.

As Yubaba snickered, only increasing Chihiro's frustrations.

"Yubaba," she said. "Are you going to give me a job or not?"

Yubaba took a good look in Chihiro's chocolate brown eyes and found no trace of fear or panic.

"Oh, alright." Yubaba gave in.

A contract paper and pen floated over to Chihiro and landed in both grasps.

"You're no fun anymore," Yubaba commented. "It's more fun to mess with that dragon."

As Chihiro signed the contract, she replied. "Leave Haku alone; he's suffered enough for you," she snapped again.

Yubaba laughed again. It was starting to get on Chihiro's nerves that Yubaba kept laughing at her.

"Aw," the old witch sighed. "Defending that little boyfriend of yours; now, that's sweet."

Chihiro's cheeks grew hot. "He's not my boyfriend!" she cried.

Yubaba carried on with her smirk. "Well, that's going to disappoint him, especially when he sees how beautiful you've grown. I'd be careful if I were you; dragons are very _possessive_ creatures." she falsely warned.

Chihiro though it was time to change the subject. "W-whatever, what's my new position?" she asked.

Yubaba just followed along. "Ah, yes. Well, since you can't have your old job, you'll be the new keeper of the garden," she said.

For the first time, Chihiro gave Yubaba a real smile. She bowed to her. "Thank you, Yubaba. I'll get started right away."

The contract floated back to Yubaba and she out stretched her hand. Parts of Chihiro's name was taken into Yubaba's palm and her hand enclosed. All that was left of Chihiro's name on the contract was consonant that read 'Sen'. Yubaba nodded. "Very well, but remember, if you work hard, I'll keep your secret safe." she bargained.

Chihiro thought for a moment to see if she could trust Yubaba. Then, she decided, "Deal."

Yubaba snorted. "Alright, now get to work! Lin will help you settle in and get you your new uniform. Oh, also, before you go, what is the certain time when you transform?" she asked.

"Every night of the full moon." Chihiro answered.

Yubaba groaned. "Great, just great!" she whined; she really hated losing workers, even if it's temporary.

Chihiro only shrugged at the witch's complaining. "It's not like I chose it," she commented.

With her patience growing thin, Yubaba waved her hand and sent Chihiro flying through the door and hallways until she reached the last door.

She landed in front of the elevator doors right on her rear. At least it wasn't her head. As she rubbed her sore rump, Chihiro thought back to the many times she had hit her head as a child.

Then, it came to Chihiro; she was actually back. She got a job, reunited with **most **of her friends and all certain complications were solved.

All that was left was for a certain dragon to return to her with a pretty good explanation for not keeping a promise.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: New Job

Once Chihiro made it downstairs on the main floor, everyone stopped what they were doing and their widened eyes followed her every step. Whispers over flowed the room. "What's a human doing here?" a frog worker said.

"I don't know, but it shouldn't be here." One of the yunas hissed.

Another frog eyed her closely. "Are you sure it's human?" he said. "It doesn't smell like one."

Chihiro had forgotten about that in the Spirit World, people hated the scent of human. She probably carried some of Human World smell with her from the seven years she had spent there. When she stayed in the Spirit World long enough, the stench would wear off.

Chihiro walked up to the foreman at his desk in the lobby and told him about her new position.

"That's absurd!" he exclaimed. "There is no way we're going to let a human stink up this place!"

Chihiro decided to have some more fun. "Aw, what's wrong? You scared I'll let in another No-face?" she joked.

The other workers gasped and continued to gape her.

"S-sen?" the foreman stuttered.

More whispers could be heard. Chihiro smirked. "Hmp, missed me?"

Everyone cheered and clapped, happily. "It's Sen, she's back!" said the foreman.

Before she knew it, Chihiro was swarmed by the workers with their greeting and questions.

"Welcome back, Sen!"

"Wow, look at how much you've grown!"

"How have you been?"

"Did you miss us?"

She was starting to feel embarrassed from all the attention.

"Alright, everyone back off! Let the girl breathe!" came Lin's voice.

She strolled to Chihiro with a disappointed look on her face. "I was told that Yubaba gave you a different job. What a bummer; I was hopin' for the old days!" she said.

Chihiro felt bad and just as disappointed as Lin. But, she had a secret to keep. Being a bath maid was too much of risk, but she wished she didn't have to lie to Lin, though.

"Sorry, Lin. But, that was Yubaba's final word and I didn't want to risk getting fired after the first five seconds with arguing." she said with a sad smile.

Lin nodded. "Good point, so what job did you get?" she asked.

Chihiro smile at having the subject changed. "Keeper of the garden and Yubaba said that you can help me get started and settled in."

Lin smiled, too. "Sure and , if you want, you can bunk with me, again." she said.

"Totally! Well, lead the way, Lin." said Chihiro, happily.

After their long walk through the bath house, Chihiro ad Lin finally made it to the girl's dorms. Just like the rest of the building, nothing's changed. It was small, but only because the rice-paper walls were slid shut; once it was time for bed, the walls would be slid open to make more room. There was a light over head and a low to the ground table on the far right side. It was very simple, but comfortable.

"Alright, Sen," said Lin. "Here's our room and you're going to need a new uniform, right?" she asked.

"That's what Yubaba said." Chihiro replied.

Lin went over to over to the back wall and opened one of the sliding cabinets and digging through other uniforms, roll-out futons and blanket, searching for the right uniform and size.

There was a question that had been buzzing around in Chihiro's head for while and she had been meaning to ask someone.

"So, Lin," she began. "Y-you wouldn't happen when Haku will be back, would you?" Chihiro blushed.

Lin turned to look at her with an evil grin. "Oh, hoh, hoh! Looks like someone's excited to see a certain dragon." she said in a playful tone.

Chihiro gasped. "Hey, c'mon, Lin, I haven't seen him in seven years and he's a good friend of mine." said Chihiro.

Lin snickered. "Alright, alright," she sighed. "Anyway, here's your new uniform." She handed Chihiro her new clothes.

She held up the top to get a good look at it. It looked quite similar to her old uniform, except her top was sea foam green and the pants were pure white.

Chihiro smiled. "Thanks again, Lin."

Lin just shrugged. "No problem. Oh, wait, I almost forgot." she said as she reached into another cabinet and pulled out what looked to be a sports bra and royal blue rain boots.

She handed them to Chihiro. "Since you're going to be outside, I thought you might need these." she said.

"Sounds reasonable." Chihiro said.

"Now," Lin began as she pulled a futon from the bottom cabinet. "You already asked me a question, so I get to ask you one." she said, sitting down on one side of the futon and patted on the, silently telling Chihiro to join her.

Chihiro laughed and sat in front of Lin. "Alright," she said. "Ask away." She crossed her legs.

"Ok, where did you get that necklace? It's beautiful." Lin hummed.

Chihiro looked down at ancient jewelry around her neck. "Oh, thanks. My grandmother gave to me." she said, shyly.

"Wow," Lin said. "Oh, hey, how 'bout you change into the uniform and see how it looks."

"O-okay." Chihiro stuttered, but she just stood still; there were no screens to change behind or spare rooms.

Lin saw her problem and smiled. "Don't be shy; it's just us girls."

Chihiro gave in, but she was still uncomfortable. As she pulled off her camisole top and grabbed the sports- bra, she heard Lin gasp.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just can't believe how much you've grown. There's a certain dragon you and I both know that's gonna be head over heels for you!" she squealed.

It was Chihiro's turn to gasp when she covered her chest with the shirt of her uniform. Her face was beet red.

"Lin!" she cried. "That's not funny! Haku doesn't like me; w-we're just friends, that's all!"

Lin just laughed. "Or so you think." she snickered.

"S-shut up." Chihiro mumbled as pulled the pants on under the top shirt. Then, she slipped on the rain boots.

She stood straight to show Lin. "So, how does it look?" It all fit perfectly, but she just wanted to be sure.

Lin started to clap. "Absolutely perfect! That's a good look for you. Oh, hold on, can you turn around for me?" she asked.

Chihiro arched an eyebrow in suspicion. "Umm, okay." she answered.

She sat back down on the futon and turned her back to Lin, as she was told to do, and she could feel Lin pull her hair out of its ponytail and twist it from left to right.

She had to find out what Lin was up to. "Lin?"

"Almost done." Lin replied. "Okay, now look."

Chihiro pulled her long hair in front of her to see Lin's work. She saw that her hair had been put into an elegant braid. Her fingers slid down and moved in the path of the design.

"Oh, Lin," she breathed. "This is beautiful."

Lin smiled. "Aw, thanks, your hair looks good in a braid."

Chihiro smiled back. At the end of the braid, she felt the sparkly hair tie hold it all together.

"Well, we better get you started." Lin said, leaping up.

Chihiro did the same. "Yeah, you're right. The old hag will have our heads for taking too long."

Putting her hands on her hips, Lin smirked. "I ain't scared of her."

Chihiro rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's go."

She and Lin walked out the dorms and back downstairs to the gardens.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Blue Eyes in Black

As they walked back downstairs, Chihiro and Lin continued their laughs with one another. While the walked across the bridge to get to the gate to the gardens, Chihiro saw the yuna and frogs greet the incoming costumers; nothing's different about that. When they had finally made it to the gardens, Lin gave Chihiro the basics and routines for taking care of the gardens. Chihiro and her grandmother had done a lot of gardening in the backyard, so she kind of already knew what to do. But, she didn't mind a little remediation.

Lin continued with her instructions. "Here's the shed where all the tools are." she explained.

There was a small, run-down hut, not far from the gate entrance by the bridge. Inside were shovels, trowels, garden cultivators and a watering can.

"Thank you, Lin." Chihiro said with a bow.

Lin bowed back. "My pleasure, Sen. If you have any questions, just come get me."

"Okay, Linn see ya later." Chihiro said with a smile and waved.

"Later, Sen!" Lin gave a smile and wave in return.

Chihiro watched Lin walk away through the shrubs that blocked the way to the gate. She could see the bridge from the shed and saw Lin walked across it and into the bath house. She, then, decided to go and have a look around. But, it was pretty dark out and the light from the shrinking moon wasn't enough, so Chihiro went into the shed and found some rice paper lanterns in the small corner by the door.

As she looked at the kanji writing printed on the rice paper, an important memory popped in Chihiro's mind. She walked over to an old busted work table at the far back of the shed with shelves hovering over head that had flower pots and bags of soil line on top. Her hands searched the table with matches, gloves and seed bags until they found a dirty and badly sharpened pencil.

"I can't believe I almost forgot about this." Chihiro muttered to herself.

She rushed back the lanterns and ripped off a small piece of one of them. Placing the paper on the back table, Chihiro gently scribbled, making sure not to rip the fragile rice paper, two simple words.

'Chihiro Ogino' was written neatly on the paper; she folded it and stuck it in the pocket of her uniform pants.

Chihiro smiled, grabbed the lanterns, but leaving the torn one and the matches off the table, and then walked out of the shed.

She had another thing to thank Haku for; when she was first in the Spirit World, Chihiro had almost forgotten her own name when Yubaba had taken it, but Haku had advised her to hold on to a good bye card from a friend that had her name on it. That was memory that Chihiro kept close to her heart.

She counted four lanterns and she lit two of them and hung them on either sides of the door to the shed. With new light illuminating the gardens, Chihiro could see that it was just as beautiful as she remembered. She looked around and could the luscious green grass and the kingdom of various flowers and herbs surrounding her and the shed.

Sitting down in the grass, she took in the peaceful surroundings. Her moment of serenity didn't last long; she heard a small rustling in the nearby bushes.

"Who's there?" she gasped.

In perfect timing, a small black cat appeared out of the vegetation. Chihiro sighed in relief.

"Oh, don't that." she said under her breath.

The cat stretched coyly and walked over to Chihiro, rubbing against her hip with a sweet "meow".

Chihiro brushed her hand over the cat's back, not even worrying about the cat biting or scratching her. It amazed her that the feline had taken a sudden liking to her. She was also amazed that a **black** cat had strange icy **blue **eyes. How strange; usually black cats have yellow or green eyes.

Chihiro wrapped her arms around the cat; it didn't even flinch as she hoisted it up. In fact, it seemed to enjoy her company.

She smiled down at her new furry friend. "You certainly are friendly." she said after setting the cat down.

As she stood up, the cat looked up at her, asking her to stay and give it more pets. But, Chihiro began to walk away, yet the cat followed.

Chihiro looked back at the cat with a sad smile. "Sorry, kitty," she said, gently. "I have to get back to work." She waved to the cat.

Chihiro continued to make her way to the for the watering can, but the cat kept following. She sighed.

"I can't play anymore, kitty." she breathed. "I would love to keep you, but I don't know if Yubaba allows pets."

The cat rubbed itself up and all around Chihiro's legs with another gentle "meow".

Chihiro sighed again, but this time in defeat. "Alright, I give!" she threw her hands in the air and smiled playfully. The cat continued to rub against her in victory,

"But," Chihiro interjected. The cat looked up at her. "If I'm going to keep you, you're going to need a name. Are you a boy or a girl? she asked.

The cat just looked up at her, then walked over to bush full of pretty pink flowers. It rubbed its head against one of them.

Chihiro could see what the cat was trying to tell her. "I guess, that means you're a girl." The cat nodded.

Chihiro smiled. "Alright, what's a good name for you?" She scratched her head in deep thought.

Then, she snapped her fingers. "I've got it, how about Mangetsu, which means 'Full moon'. But, we can just call you Getsu, or 'Moon', for short." she explained.

Getsu came over to Chihiro and resumed her rubbing. Chihiro chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."

She bent down and picked Getsu up in her arms. Getsu purred and closed her eyes with pure bliss and her ears were being scratched by her new mistress.

Chihiro walked back over to the shed and sat down by the door with Getsu still in her arms, purring loudly.

While petting Getsu on the head, Chihiro looked up at the bright stars that looked to be painted in the midnight sky.

"Now," she said. "A certain dragon has to make an entrance."

Getsu looked up at her in confusion.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Moonstone

All through out her shift, Chihiro watered plants, fed them and even planted a few of her own.

Every now and then, Chihiro would take break with Getsu in her arms. The whole time a certain young river spirit kept meandering his way into her thoughts. She wondered when he would be returning and if he would be happy to see her.

"Ugh," she sighed, shaking her head. "I can't just day dream about some dragon all night."

She was currently watering a hydrangea bush, not far from where Haku had given her the rice balls and her clothes; Chihiro remembered crying her eyes out after seeing her parents as pigs. He had comforted her and soothed her, an act she wished he had done when she lost her parent for good.

"Why didn't he come? He promised!" she cried. Getsu sat in the grass by the bush, while looking at Chihiro with sadness tainting her icy blue eyes. Chihiro had told Getsu all about her first visit in the Spirit World and Haku's promise. She knew she must have looked pretty strange talking to cat, but she didn't care. Of course, there are some **other **details she had yet to spill.

Chihiro eyed Getsu cautiously. "Well, it is just a cat." she said to herself. "I don't think it'll hurt if only a cat knew, I mean who's she gonna tell?"

With hesitation creeping into her mind, she, then, realized that she was being ridiculous.

"Getsu," she began. "There's more this tale." Getsu looked at her with curiosity.

Chihiro breathed. "Well, let's just say, not all the magic ended when I left. There's more about me that you don't know about me, but I think I can trust you." she replied. That is something she hasn't said in a while.

Getsu continued her curious expression with a cute tilt of the head.

Chihiro chuckled. "Heh, okay, no more stalling, Getsu every full moon you won't see me; I would be in water. Because of a little blood line inheritance, I carry the blood of a…" she trailed off for a moment, as if thinking twice about her decision. Whether it was a cat or not, this was hard; she wasn't use to this.

With her head down, her brown bangs covering her eyes from the cat. She continued. "…the blood of a mermaid." she mumbled.

Getsu's ears just twitched; well, it's not like Chihiro expected a reaction. She rubbed against Chihiro's fingertips. Chihiro relaxed. "That wasn't so bad," she sighed. "But, you can't tell anyone." she said with hushing finger over her playful smile.

Getsu nodded. With her new pet in her arms, Chihiro hugged Getsu to her chest.

As she broke the embrace an idea shot in her mind. She set Gets down and went into the shed, with Getsu behind her. Chihiro looked around to see if she could find what she was looking for. Then, she went over to the back table and saw that it had a drawer; she opened it and saw all types of crystals with some rusty scissors inside. Kind funny that most of the crystals had holes, must be for jewelry

"The last gardener must have been craving shiny things, too." Chihiro mumbled. The employees there were rather avarice; it didn't surprise her.

She picked out three pieces of what must have been quartz: two small teardrops and one big teardrop; all three of them had holes right on the top. Chihiro placed them and the scissors on the table and went searching around for the last material. And there upon the high shelf, was a well hidden role of twine. For once, Chihiro was grateful for her tall height and was able to stand on her toes to grab the twine. She brought it on the table as well and got right to work. The whole time, Getsu was on top of the table and watched Chihiro work on her craft. Chihiro cut the twine at a pretty long length and put the rest of it away. She rapped the twine around Getsu's neck. The cat didn't even flinch, but was still confused of what Chihiro was up to.

After placing cutting the twine to the length needed, she slid the twine through the hole of the big crystal, then let fall right in the middle of the twine and the put the two smaller ones on either side of the larger one. Once it was it was finished, she held up the small necklace and examined it. "Mm, I've never been much of a crafter, but I have to admit, it's not bad." she sighed.

Chihiro looked over at Getsu, rapped the piece of jewelry around her neck and tied it. She watched as Getsu eyed it. She gave the collar around her neck a sniff and rubbed against Chihiro's belly. Chihiro chuckled and picked up Getsu in her arms. She strolled out the door, sat down in her little spot by the door and continued to stroke Getsu on the head.

"That's a good look for you, Getsu," she said, as she looked down at her pet. "It almost matches your eyes."

Then, a voice had broken Chihiro's eyes away from the cat. "Sen!"

Chihiro's head snapped up to see who was calling her. The voice called again. "Sen!"

The sound of rustling bushes made her jump. She saw Lin emerge from the shrub. "Oh, there you are," she said while walking to Chihiro. "Well, Sen, it's time to clock out, so we better-…" Lin cut herself off when she saw the black feline in Chihiro's arms.

Lin arched an eyebrow. "Uh…Sen, why do you have a cat with you?" she asked.

Chihiro looked down at Getsu, then back at Lin. "Oh, how rude of me! Lin, I'd like you to meet my new friend, Mangetsu, or Getsu, for short." Chihiro said sweetly.

Lin crouched down at Chihiro's eye level and stared at Getsu. Then, she smiled at the cat and petted her on the head.

"Well," said Lin. "I guess she's bunckin' with us , huh?"

Chihiro giggled. "Yep, I suppose. Is that okay with you?"

Lin just kept her smile. "Sure, but you're gonna have to be the official owner; I don't have the time to take care of a pet."

Chihiro beamed. "That's alright with me." She held Getsu close to her heart.

Lin stood up, stretched her arms over her head with her finger laced together. "Anyway, Sen, it's time for dinner and then bedtime: I came to get you." she said.

Chihiro stood as well with Getsu still in her arms. "Okay, let's get going."

With that said, Chihiro, Lin and Getsu went back to the bath house. As they walked across the bridge, Chihiro noticed the tiny beams of yellow light rays stretching up towards the stars. The bath house would soon be overcome with sleep.

"Hey, Sen," Lin said. Chihiro snapped her head over to her. "I heard from the foreman that Haku might be coming, oh, I dunno, tomorrow night." Lin said with a sly smile.

Chihiro gasped, her cheeks turning a light pink. "R-really?" she stuttered.

Lin continued with her smile. "Mm-hmm. Oh, I can see it now; you and him reunited, he's shocked by your beauty in the garden, all underneath the light of the full moon." she said, her face all goofy and dreamy.

Chihiro went stiff, her eyes widened. "W-what? Full m-moon?"

Lin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, why? Sen, are you okay" she asked as she saw Chihiro turned pale.

Chihiro shook her head to snap herself out of her panic. Why would there be a full moon _tomorrow_ night? There was already one last night. Chihiro pushed all the questions aside.

She put on a fake smile. "Oh, yes, Lin. I'm alright; I'm just tired. I also just remembered that I need to see Yubaba about something." said Chihiro.

Putting her hands on her hips, Lin gave a look of concern. "What's wrong?"

Chihiro held her hand up. "Nothing, nothing at all." she said.

Knowing that answers were needed, Chihiro didn't have time to waste.

"Look, Lin," said Chihiro. "It's nothing. Really, it's just something I need to take care of."

Lin still kept her stare on Chihiro. "Okay, if you're sure." she said as she watched Chihiro set Getsu down and walked past her towards the front door of the bath house.

Chihiro turned to Lin and waved. "I'll see you back in the dorms, okay?" she said, smiling.

Lin decided not to pursue the matter any further. She smiled back. "Alright."

With a sigh of relief, Chihiro made way to the front entrance. As she walked to the lobby Chihiro's mind seethed. Why hadn't Yubaba warned her about this?

An angry look was engraved on Chihiro's face. "Does the old bat think this is funny? If she knows about my secret, then she should know how crucial my transformation time is." she hissed under her breath.

Chihiro marched her way through the lobby, passed the bathing rooms and into the nearest elevator with Getsu still by her side. She pulled the lever up and the elevator obeyed.

As the elevator rose towards the top, Chihiro kept her mind open for a plan. In the midst of her panic was much disappointment. Haku was coming back tomorrow and she was going to miss it.

Chihiro took a deep breath and relaxed. She knew panicking wasn't going to help. The good news was she thought of a place for her transformation; it was so plain obvious that she couldn't believe she didn't think of it sooner. There was an entire sea of rain water right behind the bath house; it was perfect.

A tugging on her pant leg brought her out of her twisting thoughts that took hold of her to easily. Getsu was clawing at the delicate cloth to tell her that they reached Yubaba's floor.

Chihiro sighed. "Oh, right, we're here. Come on, Getsu." she said.

Getsu followed as Chihiro stepped out of the elevator. Chihiro's anger returned as she and Getsu made to the two separate doors. The ugly door knocker glared at them.

"Oh, great!" it groaned. "Now what do you want?" it asked rudely.

Getsu hissed at the knocker, her ears flat against her head and blue eyes formed into slits.

The knocker snorted, but Chihiro glared back. "It's none of your business." she snapped as she opened the door herself. She walked in without even waiting for Yubaba's invitation.

Chihiro looked down at Getsu. "Hey, Getsu, maybe you wait out there. Don't know if Yubaba will approve of you." she whispered. Getsu nodded and went back through the doorway.

Chihiro chuckled and continued to walk through all the twists and turns to Yubaba's office and finally made it, only to find the old witch right where Chihiro had left her: working at the desk.

Yubaba looked up from her paperwork and glared at Chihiro, "Ugh, what is it, Sen? I'm very busy." she grunted.

Chihiro crossed her arms. "Yubaba, why didn't you tell me about the full moon tomorrow night? Do you think this is some kind of joke?" she asked in fury.

Yubaba just burst out laughing. "Oh, did I forget to tell you? Phases of the moon have minds of their own here. How careless of me." she snickered.

Chihiro sneered at her. This witch knew just how get under her skin.

"Not funny, Yubaba." she growled.

Yubaba snorted. "Not to you, maybe." she shot back.

Chihiro held an icy glare pointed at Yubaba. The witch glared back.

They both didn't how this staring contest went on. A minute? An hour? In reality, it was only three minutes when Yubaba gave in.

She held up her hands in defeat. "Okay, okay, keep your scales on, Sen." she said in a teasing tone. "I think I have something that may help you." she said.

Yubaba got up from her desk and went to the tall cabinets that sat next to a curtained doorway. Chihiro knew what room that led to; it was the bedroom to Yubaba's son, Boh, a giant baby. She remembered how spoiled he was, especially when he threatened to break her arm if she didn't play with him. She if he was still concealed in his room.

Chihiro stopped her thinking as she watched Yubaba dig through the top drawer until she found what she was looking for. "Ah, hah!" the witch cried.

In her wrinkled hand, she held a platinum white stone that shimmered. It was smooth and round, and could fit perfectly in her palm. Yubaba walked over to Chihiro and placed it in her hand. Holding it in her fingers, Chihiro looked up at Yubaba, puzzling.

Yubaba rolled her eyes. "It's a moonstone; I think it's known in the Human World, although not all its powers respond there. But, here when there's a full moon ahead, it glows to alert you. If I were you, I would always keep that with you." she advised.

Chihiro nodded held the stone in her hand tightly.

"Now go," she said, waved her in a shooing motion. "People are probably wondering where you are. Go on, shoo!" she huffed.

Bowing to the witch, Chihiro turned to the door to leave, but Yubaba stopped her. "Oh, by the way, did you hear a friend of yours is returning soon?" she asked.

Chihiro just sighed deeply. "Yes, ma'am, I heard." she sadly replied. With that, she walked out.

Yubaba returned to her desk with a sigh. She was a little sorry for Chihiro. But, what really bothered her was that when Haku arrives, he will instantly catch Chihiro's scent, and then probably tear up the entire bath house, looking for her.

She groaned. "He'll get mad at me by thinking I turned her into a pig when he doesn't find her."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Sneak Out

Chihiro walked down the last hallway. Pushing the last set of doors open with a huff, she sighed. Getsu looked at her in confusion.

She walked through the doorway and Getsu trotted down the hall with her. Chihiro looked down at Getsu with a tired expression. "Well, Getsu, looks like this is going to be harder than we thought."

Getsu gave a small "meow" in reply.

They made it to the elevator and Chihiro pushed the button to open it. The girl and her cat stepped in and she pulled down the lever. She watched the doors slide closed and felt the elevator seep down through the shaft.

Chihiro pondered over the sudden turn of events. One minute she was practically a professional at being a mermaid, the next she's back down to the amateur level. She looked at the beautiful stone in her palm. If the light hit it just right, light colors of the rainbow would silk across the smooth surface. Yubaba said that it would glow to alert her of a full moon.

Chihiro chuckled. "Never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to have to thank Yubaba." she said, clenching the stone tightly in her fist.

The elevator dinged and the door opened to revel the floor that belonged to the worker's quarters. Chihiro walked down the balcony with the rice paper doors on her left and the wooden railings on the right. She walked by a couple dorms until she reached the one she and Lin shared.

After sliding the door open, Chihiro saw Lin and three other girl workers; one looked to be a bath maid and the other two were yunas.

They were sitting in a circle with Lin's back to Chihiro. Upon hearing the sliding of the door, Lin turned to face Chihiro. A smiled a graced her lips.

"Sen," she said. "There you are. Did you get everything straightened out?"

Chihiro sighed and smiled. "Yep, you don't need to worry." she replied.

Lin nodded and invited her to come and join their circle. After pulling off her sea-foam green tunic, leaving just the sports-bra like undergarment and secretly sneaking the moonstone in the shirt, Chihiro sat down next to Lin.

Chihiro, then, noticed that the other three girls were staring at her in awe, almost shock. It was starting to freak her out. "What are you looking at me for?" she asked.

The bath maid in the middle had a playfully impressed look on her face. "Girl, ya sure know how to work those curves." she said. She kind of had the accent of an African-American, which was quite a rare gift in the middle of Japan.

Chihiro blushed as one of the yunas spoke. "Are you wearing make-up? If you are, it sure does make that face of yours a piece of work." she commented.

With her cheeks and the bridge of her nose blazing red, Chihiro answered. "N-no. No make-up."

They all stared at her in amazement, even Lin. It was hard for them to believe that such beauty could come naturally.

Chihiro obviously could tell them why she looked the way she did. Even back in the Human World, people would tell her she was extremely beautiful, but she never saw it. Whenever she looked in the mirror, all she saw was Chihiro, that's all. No beauty or ugliness, just Chihiro and that was fine with her.

The bath maid snickered. "Whacha' blushin' for? After all, ya might want to save it for Haku." she put an emphasis on his name.

Then, Lin stepped in. "Aw, don't tease her, Yumi. Besides, Haku is coming back tomorrow night. Ironic, when you finally come back, he's not here." she laughed.

Chihiro could feel her heart break. This conversation was merely just reminding her that she was going to miss Haku's arrival. Of course, there was nothing she could do about it.

Lin saw the sad expression on Chihiro's face. "Hey, Sen, what's wrong?" she asked.

Chihiro wiped away her sadness; she should be happy for now. "Oh, nothing, Lin. I was just thinking." she said, happily.

Lin wasn't entirely convinced; she would've thought Chihiro would be happy to hear about seeing Haku again. She suspected that it might be something personal, seeing that Chihiro wasn't willing to share, so she changed the subject.

"Hey, Sen," Lin interjected. "Where's that furry friend of yours?"

Chihiro turned around , expecting to see Getsu, but saw nothing. "Getsu?" she called.

A small "meow" came from the corner. All five of them turned and saw Getsu curled up in a ball, on the verge of sleep.

Chihiro sighed. "There she is." she said.

"Aw," a yuna cooed. "She's so cute; where'd she come from?"

Chihiro turned back around to group. "I found her in the garden. I guess she took a sudden liking to me." she replied.

Lin looked out the open door and saw the sun was slowly rising from the eastern horizon. She stood up and stretched.

"Well, girls, it's to hit the sack. We shouldn't stay awake too long." she said with a yawn.

The rest stood up including Chihiro, got their futons and blankets from the back wall and laid them out on the floor. Chihiro had managed to get a spot by the door, so when it was time for her to make her escape, she wouldn't have to risk waking up anyone.

The oil candle that lit up the room was blown out and the all snuggled in their blankets. Getsu got up from her spot in the corner, went over to Chihiro's spot by the door and curled up on the floral blanket.

Chihiro remembered that she had to keep an eye on the moonstone that she had hidden in her folded up shirt. She grabbed the shirt from its position next to her futon and stuck her hand in the fold of the fabric until she felt the cool smooth, surface of the stone. Chihiro pulled it out of her shirt and held it tightly.

She laid her head on the pillow that awaited her slumber and within minutes, Chihiro fell into the world of sleep.

As the hours of the day passed by, Chihiro's subconscious was pooled with dreams of her new life, job, and a green eyed dragon. After hours of restful sleep, Chihiro could feel something warm in her palm. She gently awoke to find the moonstone, that was still tucked in her hand, glow softly with an eerie white light.

Chihiro rose in a sitting position on her futon. She looked around and saw that everyone was still asleep. The stone was still wearing its soft aura to tell the time of a full moon was near.

She silently stood from her futon, Getsu to wake up. Chihiro crouched back down to gently pet and scratch Getsu on the head.

"It's time, Getsu." she whispered.

The cat stood from her resting place on the blanket and stretched. Chihiro took both corners of the futon and pulled it up, telling Getsu to get off. She stood with the futon corners still in her grasps; she folded it in half and then another.

She placed the folded futon on the floor and placed the blanket on top of it, folded in the same way as the futon.

Chihiro stood up and turned to the door that she slept beside. She slowly grasped the rim of the door, but then looked down at Getsu. She gave a look that told the cat she had to stay this time. Getsu obeyed her mistress and rested down the blanket. Chihiro nodded and gently slid it open. As she moved the door aside, the light of the late afternoon spilled in the room and shined on her, enhancing the brightness in her brown eyes. After stepping out of the room quickly, so the sudden light wouldn't stir anyone, Chihiro closed the sliding door gently, but quickly.

She looked out to the horizon and saw the sun was already fairly close to setting. Chihiro still had some left; the moonstone was still glowing, so she figured that she had to make it to the sea behind the bath house before the aura of the white stone dissipated.

She started walking past the dorms and made it to the stairs where Lin had shown her the piece of gold she got from No-face.

Chihiro looked around at the empty hallways. She walked down the stairs that led to the walkways and rooms for the guests. It was eerie and quiet; so quiet, she could hear her footsteps echo faintly through the bath house. It didn't look like there was any source of life in the building.

When she made it down to the main level, the bathing rooms were clean and empty; they looked like they were barely even touched. As she walked by the rooms, inside one of them was a bath house yukata robe meant for a guest to wear.

Chihiro eyed it, thinking she might not want to waste something she might need. If she wore her work clothes and someone spotted her outside, people would get suspicious. She walked in the bathing room, looked for any wanderers and stripped off all her clothes, then rapped the silky robe around her and tied the obi sash. She folded the sports-bra, her undergarments, the white pants that go underneath the top layer of pants, and folded those as well. Like she did before, Chihiro stuck the moonstone in her work clothes.

She took her folded uniform and tucked it under her arm. The robe felt cool and soft against her skin; she could see why costumers like the robes so much.

She jogged out of the bathing room, past the others and the stand where the foreman handed out bath tokens, then out to the front entrance. As she pushed back the curtains of the doorway, she walked out on to the bridge. From there, she could already see the sky was starting to turn from orange, pink and yellow to its beautiful midnight blue, even a few premature stars were blinking down at her. Chihiro walked to the other end of the bridge; now that she was outside, how was she going to get down to the sea of rain water. She, then, thought of that small stone platform where Lin waited for her as she was being chased through the bath house by No-face.

Curious, Chihiro walked over to the end of the bath house with open air bathes. She worked her way through the vegetation, until she came upon a staircase that was quite similar to the staircase that ked to Kamaji's boiler room. One similarity was that there was no railing, much to Chihiro's dismay. She carefully placed her right foot on the first step to make sure it wouldn't break, then the left on the other. She continued with this pattern until she reached the small platform.

It was practically night and Chihiro could see the lanterns and light of the bath house illuminate in the night. She could also see the silhouette of a bright, full, silver moon through a cloud; she was right on time. As she heard the bustling of workers awakening and preparing for costumers, Chihiro stepped to the edge of the platform and took in a deep breath of the scent of rain water from the sea.

She set her work clothe down by her feet, then checked her surroundings. After being sure she was alone, Chihiro took the sash in her grasps, unraveled it slowly and had it fall to the ground. The robe, itself, hung loosely from her shoulders until that, too, fell to the platform. The moonlight cast a milky glow on her pale skin. Sighing again, Chihiro could feel that tingly feeling in her legs already. Without another thought, she dove into the water. The water was cool and slick against her and soon came the rushing of water and the beautiful blue light. The tingle had subsided; all that could be heard was the sway of the water's glassy surface.

Chihiro rose to the surface, feeling the water slip down her face, hair and shoulders. She breathed in the crisp night air and floated on her back like she always did.

"Hm," she breathed. "My first transformation in the Spirit World; not bad." she said to herself.

She just swam and floated. That was the catch for her transformation; she never had anything else to do, but swim. Although, she didn't mind all the extra space she had. The 'pond' was too small for her to really swim at full speed. Chihiro completely submerged herself under the water; she could see the rays of the moonlight dance with waves in the deep blue of the water and she could just barely see the same train tracks she had ridden on when she headed for Swamp Bottom.

She had wide open space; it got her adrenalin pumping. Without warning, she took off. Chihiro wasn't much of a runner on land, but in the water, she could torpedo faster than a racing speed boat. It felt good to race around for once; she never got the chance for it. Chihiro lapped between the station and the platform twenty times in less than ten seconds. Finally, she was getting tired out and decided to just lazily float. As she glided through the water, she couldn't help but think about what she might be missing. What did Lin think when she woke up and found Chihiro missing? What about Haku? Obviously, Lin would tell him about her returning here as soon as he walked through the door, but what will happen if they go looking for her and can't find her?

She went on with her thinking for the next few hours, when the moon was high over head.

Then, there was a disturbance in the water Chihiro could feel the change in the pattern of the waves.

"Huh?" she gasped. "What is this?"

She looked around saw nothing, but a boat. It was more like a ship than a boat. It almost looked like an English ship, but still with some more Japanese style. It seemed no more than a mile or so from the station, where the water was deeper. Chihiro curiously gazed at it; she didn't think boats would travel here. The more she watched it, the more she wanted to explore. Even though the risk of being seen was high, Chihiro just wanted to take a quick look.

She swam towards it slowly; making sure her splashes weren't noticeable. As Chihiro got closer, she was able to hear voices. Muffles turned to words and laughter. She could also hear music and the sound of clashing glasses. Chihiro could easily smell the sickening scent of alcohol; she always hated that smell. The ship was a little bigger than the spirit ferry she saw the other night, but she still able to grab the rim of the ship and peek her head over to get a better look.

As, she rose her eyes over the edge, what she saw surprised her. It looked like just bunch of men, talking, laughing and drinking. Chihiro grimaced at the sight of them; this was the side of men she was never fond of. A few of them looked like sailors and the others were just the passengers. Chihiro lowered slightly; she had read that sailors were well aware of her kind, mainly because mermaids were said to be the cause of shipwrecks. If one had spotted her, it may start a riot. Her eyes still wandered the scene until they met familiar figure.

Chihiro's breath was caught in her throat, her heart raced and she could feel the temperature in her cheeks rise.

There, stood a man, a young man; he looked no older than nineteen, while standing at a tall height of 6'2. He wore a plain white tunic with gray pants that were tucked into the black boot that adorned his feet. His skin was pale, but it had definetly had gotten more color to it than last time she remembered. With his unearthly strait hair ending just below his strong jaw, it seemed to be a strange mix between charcoal and forest green. His face was quite a handsome feature; it wasn't too different from last time, but it certainly wasn't the face of a little boy. The one thing that Chihiro remembered the most was his beautiful olive green eyes, only they seemed more free and warm then before. He had changed so much, as far as Chihiro could see.

He was so handsome, last time she had seen him, he looked like he was at least a twelve year old boy.

When she finally found her voice, all Chihiro could just barely whisper one thing. "Haku."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Dragon's Arrival

For the first time in seven years, Chihiro got to see her old dragon friend. She blushed when she realized he had changed from a twelve-year-old looking boy, to a strapping young man, who looked to be no older than nineteen.

Her amazement turned to anger; why was he here on some boat with a bunch of men, drinking, when he made a promise to her that **she** had kept for him. He was just leaning back against the railing with a clear, half empty beer mug in his hand. Haku just yawned with a bored expression.

Chihiro had to force herself from calling out his name; she had to keep her cover.

"Haku!" a voice called out.

Haku snapped his head up at hearing his name. "Haruki," he said.

A man who looked to be the same age as Haku was walking towards him. He had dark raven black hair that seemed to have flashes of blue highlight from the shining moon. His eyes were black, but full of joy and humor. He wore a black robe that contrasted completely with his pale skin. His name didn't match anything in his appearance. He came up to Haku and held him in a head-lock. Haku didn't really seem very amused, but didn't object.

"There you are, Haku. Where've ya been?" his friend asked with a smile on his face.

Haku smirked. "Here, where else?" he replied.

Chihiro giggled softly as she watched the two boys joke around. "Well, at least he's got a sense of humor." she said. Chihiro remembered that Haku's sense of humor was as slow as a rock the last she saw him.

She continued to observe Haku and his friend; she felt weird, watching them like that. She gently slid over a little to her right to get a better perspective; Chihiro didn't really care if she wasn't exactly decent to be in the presence of men, she just hoped that they wouldn't see her and then freak them out, plus she would be reveled for what she was, not only to others, but in front of Haku, as well.

As she got closer, their conversation became clearer to her ears.

"Would you still like to accompany me to the bath house, Haruki? I'll have a room and bath prepared for you." Haku suggested.

Haruki smiled and playfully smacked Haku on the back. "Aw, how thoughtful! I guess I'll swing by with you; it'll give me a chance to say hi to that cute weasel spirit, Lin." he said with a lazy smile.

Chihiro covered her mouth with her hand. So, Lin's got an admirer. Chihiro wondered why she never mentioned it.

Haku sighed and shook his head. "Haruki, she rolls her eyes at you whenever you show up."

With determination in him, Haruki stood up straight. "She's just playing hard to get; I like that. Haku, my friend, just you wait." he said, boldly.

Haku arched an eyebrow. "Wait for what?"

Haruki sighed. "Never mind."

Haku smiled and looked at his fellow passengers. He had just come back from visiting his river. After he finished rebuilding it, he visited it quite often. Although, he would try to equally split his time between there and the bath house; it wasn't so bad to work there now that he had his true name, home and freedom. It was all thanks to one special little girl.

The dragon sighed, even after seven years; he still ached to see her. But over those same years, he managed to control it. All the pranks had immediately stopped after Haku had lost his temper and nearly scared away all the costumers; that was not that best day of business for the bath house. For once, Haku was actually grateful for having a hot temper.

But somehow, those pranks made him realize his desires were selfish. Seven years is a long time; he knew Chihiro would be all grown up, have a life of her own, her family, friends; what kind of friend would he be if he were to ask her to leave that behind and live in a world that she would have to start a new life in? But, of course he remembered his promise and he was planning on keeping it the minute he got the chance. Haku hoped Chihiro wouldn't be too angry with him for taking so long. With work and his river, a lot of his time was expended.

Chihiro watched Haku as he was lost in thought. "Is that what I look like when I zone out?" she whispered to herself.

She saw Haruki notice Haku's daze and waved his hand in front of his face.

"Hey!" he said. "Hello? Anybody in there?"

Haku shook his thought from his mind. "Huh? What? Did you say something?" he asked.

Haruki rolled his eyes. "No, but I was going to ask you if you wanted to get a refill with me." he said in a playfully rude tone.

Looking in his glass, Haku smiled. "I wouldn't mind that." he replied.

He got up from his leaning position on the railing to his full stance. Chihiro saw Haku had obviously gotten some muscles over the years, but he was still very lean, almost like a swimmer, which she certainly found flattering. As he walked away with his friend, Chihiro was about to leave, until she heard an elderly sailor yell. "Oy, lads! Gather 'round and spin whatever tale ya brought with ya." he said, lowly.

She couldn't help, but stayed with the need to hear the stories of the sailors. Haku didn't look like he was very interested, but Haruki dragged him over to listen.

With sailors and riders gathering around the elder sailor at a table in the middle of the ship, none of them spoke. "Well," the old sailor began. "Don't any of ye have any stories and secrets to spin?" he asked.

Some of the men scratched the back of their heads, some were red in the face and others were just looking at each other for anything.

Haku and Haruki were back and slightly separated from the rest of the group. Haruki nudged Haku in the ribs with a sly smile. "You should tell 'em about your little human girlfriend." he snickered.

Chihiro watched Haku turn a slight pink; she didn't hear what Haruki said, so it confused and amused her to see him at least a slight bit flustered.

"She's not my girlfriend, Haruki! After all, she was only ten the last time I saw her." he growled.

Back in the group of sailors and passengers, the elder sailor tapped his fingers on the wooden table.

"This is just sad, mi lads." he sighed.

The sailors looked ashamed.

The elder sailor just took in a deep breath. "I was saving mi own tale for last, but I guess there isn't even a first as far as I can see." he said.

The others surrounded him and leaned in closely; sailors were known for trading fish tales and legends of all sorts.

"The story ye are about ta hear, mi lads, is true. When I was just a young lad, like most of ye, I was sailing for the first time on my own. My father had loaned me his boat and I took it out on the huge lake by our small home. As night over came, I was about to head back, when I suddenly heard a voice, this sweet, mellifluous voice singin', callin' out to me, left me hypnotized." he paused. The listeners looked at each other with curiosity. Even Haku and Haruki seemed engrossed in the tale. Chihiro continued to watch and listen from her hiding spot; she, somehow, already knew where this story was going and it made her feel a little uncomfortable.

The sailor continued. "I was scared, entranced and curious all at the same time. As I tried to get back home, the water became strangely calm n' motionless. There was a loud splash and a bright light of gold at the front of my boat. The water was in a current that was circling me; I was immobilized. I looked over the edge of the boat as I heard the blithe laughter of a young woman. Then, out of the blue, a blurred figure was coursing towards me from under the water." he paused again, only to get the boys surrounding him caught up in suspense. It certainly worked, some were shaking and clutching the table, and others had their eyes wide open, as well as their ears. Haku and Haruki were leaning against the barrels of alcohol; they were defiantly listening and were curious about the old sailor's story.

As for Chihiro, she found herself interested in the tale, as well. She was still hanging on the rim of boat, though she didn't plan on staying for long. It was only a matter of time before she was spotted. Chihiro sighed, took one last look at Haku, smiled, then quietly and carefully returned the awaiting waters below. The sailors and passengers were too focused on the story to even notice the gentle splash.

The old sailor continued. "Rising up out of the water was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her face was pale, innocent, but mischievous. Her hair was like golden sunshine and longer than my leg. And her eyes, they were like blue crystals gleaming up at me. I transfixed like any other young man as she came towards me. I could only see her from the shoulders up, until she reached up to the edge of my boat and rested her arms on the rim. She began to sing again; I couldn't understand the lyrics, for the sounded foreign. But, that didn't stop me from moving towards her; something in me was struggling to make me stop, but it was no use I couldn't stop myself. It was like I was being drawn in by her music and beauty." his voice was getting low and frightening.

"I stretched out my hand to her and she gently took it. Suddenly, it felt as if her voice was fogging my mind; everything started spinning and fading, and then it all went black." the sailor stopped to hear the hushed whisper of his listeners.

Haruki leaned towards Haku. "That's an all too familiar routine." he whispered.

The sailor spoke again. "And when I awoke, it was morning. I found myself laying on the shore of the lake with my clothes hopelessly torn. As for my boat, all that was left of it was the steering wheel and a few planks of wood." he said, ending his tale.

The younger sailors and passengers broke into conversations about the old man's tale.

"Do you think he could be talking about…?" one sailor said.

"Definitely," said another.

"It's unmistakable." a third sailor accosted.

Then, a single word was hissed through the air. "Mermaids."

Haku and Haruki looked at each other in bewilderment. "Mermaids?" they both repeated.

The old sailor looked towards them from the table. "Ay, lads, rare creatures, they be. That was the last time I ever encountered one. But, they're out there; one could be right under your nose, for they can walk on solid ground and be unseen of what they truly are." he stated.

"I heard it said a kiss from a mermaid can save you from drowning." a sailor whispered.

Another nodded. "I heard that, too. I also heard they can bewitch any man with just song." he said.

Sneering, another hissed, "Don't be fooled by their beauty, whether on land or in the water, they can be trouble."

As the sailors continued their tale spinning, Haku sighed. He got up from the barrels, walked over to the edge, and rested his elbows on the rim and his head in one of his palms. He didn't really have much interest in the stories of the sailors.

His gaze drifted over to the bath house that had slowly and clearly come into sight. He watched as the bright reflection of the bath house lights shimmer, dance and aimlessly move across the water. The sea breeze brushed his hair and clothes over his skin; it was moments like this that him think about his freedom and his new life. He thought about his river, his friends, but mostly, Chihiro. He had been thinking about her a lot lately; he didn't know why.

His train of thought had stopped when something had caught his eyes. In the bright reflection of red, yellow and orange from the bath house, a small spec of the most beautiful shade of blue flashed for a moment and then it was gone. Then, there it was again; Haku squinted his eyes in an effort to catch sight of it, but it was gone again. He rubbed his eyes, contemplating whether it was real or his eyes were just teasing him. He was waited a few moments to see if it would appear again, but gave up on it.

After ten minutes or so, the ship came to a halt at the train station. Chihiro, who was still swimming about close to her platform, watched from a far distance. The rim of the boat was no more than four feet from the concrete, so Haku and Haruki could jump over board and land with ease. No matter how hard she tried not to, the blush had risen to Chihiro's cheeks; she couldn't keep away the thoughts of finally being this close to formally being reunited with her friend.

Unexpectedly, she saw someone else depart off the ship. He was a little taller than Haku; he looked to be in his mid twenties. His hair was at the length of his jaw; it was black as soot and was more on the wild side. A heavy black, partly buttoned trench coat hung settled on his shoulders. His black combat boots looked like they weighed a ton as they slammed down hard on the station. His face, Chihiro couldn't even describe it. He was handsome in a mysterious, gloomy, suspicious, almost evil, sort of way. His face was monotone, but also highly intimidating. What scared Chihiro the most were his eyes; they were locked up tighter than a safe with the mistiest shade of gray.

Chihiro got the sudden urge to keep her distance from that man. She sometimes could tell a lot about a person just by looking at them. She didn't know why or how, but sometimes Chihiro just got a feeling from it; a sixth sense, one might call it. Like Haku, for example; when Chihiro was ten, she would have trusted Haku with her life and she had only truly known him for a day!

Even at her fair distance, Chihiro could see Haku eye the strange man. He just shrugged. It seemed that Haku didn't get the same vibes from him like Chihiro did.

"Um…can we give you a ride, sir?" he asked, uneasily.

Haruki nodded, "Yeah, we're going to that over there." he said, sticking his thumb towards the bath house.

A slippery smile appeared on the man's face; two sharp canines poking could be seen, poking out on either sides of his mouth.

"Yes, in fact, I was headed that way, as well. Thank you, gentlemen." he said in a smooth velvet tone.

Chihiro couldn't hear what they were saying, but she watched Haruki and the strange man step away from Haku. In less than a second, in his place was a magnificent creature. He was longer and a little more muscular than Chihiro remembered; she was surprised that he wasn't having trouble keeping all four legs on the stone platform. His scales were the same shimmering white petals, as well as his mane have that tealish- green hint to it. His bird-like feet were only intimidating with their razor sharp claws that could rip flesh clean the bone. He looked to have the face of a wolf with ivory horns sprouting on the top of his head with one on each side of the beginning of his mane, as were two long white whiskers on either side of his snout. Chihiro sighed sadly, looking at him now; it made her realize that, even though she wasn't human, she and Haku were still very different. In contrast to her, dragons were well- known and regal creatures, respected by all.

She saw Haruki and that dark stranger climb aboard Haku's back and took off into the night. Chihiro's eyes twinkled and her blue scales almost glistened with affection as she watched Haku sore through the sky; he reminded her of a shooting star, dancing on the Milky-way. The timid mermaid quickly lowered herself deeper in the water as the dragon and his riders passed over her, then towards the entrance of the bath house.

A problem of Chihiro's returned with a vengeance; once Haku returned, he'll hear about her arrival and probably look for her. She prayed he wouldn't go to Lin to help with the search.

Chihiro swam out into the open water and paced, or lapped, back and forth to come up with an explanation for tomorrow.

When nothing came to mind, Chihiro sighed in frustration. She looked up and scowled at the full moon. "You know, sometimes, you can be a real pain." she muttered.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Haku's Search

As he flew over the sea of rain water, the white dragon, Kohaku, or Haku, could already see a few workers of the bath house coming out to greet him, like usual.

A few costumers and workers made room for him to land. Once his feet swiftly touched the ground, Haruki and the strange man in black hopped off his back. As soon as Haku transformed back, he stood in front of the bridge, only to find the frogs and yunna making way and bowing at his feet; they humbly welcomed him and his guests.

"Welcome back, Master Haku." said a frog.

"We are relieved that you have returned safely." praised another.

"And he has brought company." said a yunna.

Another yunna giggled, "Yes, Master Haruki and a new costumer."

Haruki winked at the yunnas, making them squeal and giggle; just the reaction he wanted.

Haku rolled his eyes and walked across the bridge. "Thank you for the welcome." he said in a dignified tone.

He was followed by Haruki, for the strange man that had come with them had vanished without a word. A few workers looked around for him, efforts in vain.

The minute Haku set foot through the front entrance; he immediately smelt a changed in the air. He could easily see it as well; true, over the years, the mood of the workers had brightened, but tonight it's as though everyone was in more than just a good mood, they seemed to carry the scent if excitement.

Haruki walked behind him and saw his friend standing perfectly still with a puzzling expression in his features.

"Hey, Haku," he said, tapping Haku on the shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Haku looked at him. "Haruki, does something seem different to you?"

Haruki examined the room, and then shook his head. "No, why?" he asked.

Keeping on his skeptical look, Haku answered, "It just seems like everyone is in a better mood than usual."

"Maybe something happened while you were gone." said Haruki.

"It certainly appears that way." Haku replied as he and Haruki walked up to the foreman's desk.

Upon seeing his master, the foreman bowed his head. "Ah, welcome back, Master Haku." he chimed.

Haku bowed back. "Good evening. Would you, please, have a bath and room prepared for Haruki," he saw the foreman eye him. "It's my treat." he informed.

The foreman, then, smiled. "Certainly," he said.

Haku turned to Haruki with a grin. "I hope you enjoy your visit, Haruki. I must go check in with Yubaba." he explained.

Haruki smiled back. He slapped Haku on the back. "Her majesty awaits; I'll meet up with you later." he laughed.

Haku chuckled. "Alright."

He watched Haruki walk down the hall, while being led to room by a yunna. He waved to Haku and Haku waved back.

Continuing his walk through the bathing rooms, Haku could still feel that new shift in the air. He heard some of the workers whisper and watch him from the sides. Haku kept his ears open for any explanations of this strange difference and to see if he wasn't the only one who noticed.

Yunnas and frogs watched Haku stroll past them and continued their secret gossip.

"It's Master Haku," whispered a frog. "What good timing."

A yunna giggled. "Indeed. Who do you think should tell him the good news?"

"Maybe someone should fetch her?" said a frog.

"Perhaps he already knows?" said another.

The first frog shook his head. "No, I'm sure we would be able to tell."

Another yunna snickered. "Let's get Lin to fetch her; I'm sure she would enjoy it."

Haku listened intently on their hushed words; it they had a visitor in the bath house.

With a sigh, Haku kept walking until he unknowingly made it to an elevator. He pushed the button and waited for the doors to slide open. He stepped inside and pulled up the lever.

As the elevator slid up to the top floor, Haku thought about what he had just heard.

He recalled one the workers saying 'her', apparently it was a girl. Haku hoped this wasn't some woman who came to ask him for a relationship; it wouldn't be the first time. He simply wasn't interested. It annoyed Haku greatly to have women constantly watching gossiping and asking him the question, only for him to give the same answer, 'No, thanks,' He wondered if Chihiro had to deal with men the same way. Haku, in a way, was envious of all the other boys who got to see her everyday.

When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, he stepped out and walked towards the two, large red doors. The clicks and clacks of his boots echoed through the empty hallway, and then stopped when he stood in front of the door.

The ugly doorknocker snorted at his presence. "Well, look who it is; took you long enough. Yubaba's expecting you." it shot at him.

Haku had learned to ignore that thing; he's had worse.

All the hallway doors swung open for him, followed with Yubaba's invitation. "Come in, Haku."

He continued his path through the doorways, twists and turns, then made to Yubaba's office in less than a minute.

He walked into the office and stood dead-set in the middle of the room. The smell of cigarette fumes and from the old carpet stung his nose as he saw Yubaba working at her desk like always.

She looked up at Haku and set aside her pen. "Welcome back, Haku. I trust everything went smoothly on your trip." she said in a slightly sly tone.

Haku's face showed no emotion, but he felt suspicion on the inside. He wondered of Yubaba was in on whatever the other workers were keeping from him, as well.

He formally bowed to the witch. "Yes, all is well." he replied. "I came to check in."

Yubaba nodded. "Very well, I'll punch you in and you can get to the paperwork in your office."

Haku quietly groaned. "And, I have a question." he said.

Yubaba eyed him, a hint of enjoyment in the dirty brown color winked. "Well?"

Haku narrowed his eyes; now he **knew **she was hiding something.

"Yubaba, what's going on?" he asked, sternly.

Displaying a mask of innocence, Yubaba replied, "Why, whatever do you mean?" She liked it whenever she got the chance to tease Haku and this would be marked as her favorite.

"Don't play dumb," he hissed. "You and the other workers are hiding something from me."

"Or someone," he added.

Yubaba snickered. "You're right about someone being here, Haku, but I'm afraid we're not hiding them."

"I heard one of the workers say it was a girl." he insisted.

Yubaba snorted, "Well, you heard right." She couldn't believe how thick-headed Haku was being.

Haku narrowed his eyes. "I also heard that should be informed; would you care to do the honors?"

Yubaba huffed, "Wish I could, but both you and I have work to do, so be off." she said.

With a snap of her fingers, Haku was dragged out Yubaba's office, like how Yubaba had done with Chihiro

Before he knew it, Haku went flying through every doorway with his heels being dragged across the ground and then he found himself standing outside the big red door. Luckily, he was still firmly on his feet.

Haku sighed in frustration; that wasn't very successful. Though, he should have known that Yubaba wouldn't play easy.

He brushed off his tunic and walked to the elevator to make his usual visit to Kamaji. He hoped the boiler man would give him answers.

After a long elevator ride into the depths of the bath house, Haku finally made it to the boiler room. He stepped out of the elevator and walked through the workings of other elevators surrounding him.

When he made it to the small sliding door, he could already feel the heat on his skin. After he gently slid open the door, he peeked his head in to see nothing unusual. All he saw was Kamaji running the boiler and the little soot balls running back and forth, serving coal to furnish.

"Oh, Haku!" Kamaji exclaimed, snapping Haku back to reality.

Haku smiled, "Good evening, Kamaji," he said as he slipped through the door.

Kamaji laughed, "And to you, how was your trip?" he asked.

"It was fine, and is all well here?" he asked, hoping for an explanation for what was going on.

Kamaji could see the curiosity and suspicion in the dragon's eyes. At first, he wanted to tell, but thought it would be more fun to let Haku find out on his own.

He suppressed a snicker. "Oh, yes, everything's fine here."

Haku could tell the boiler-man was lying and that was enjoying it. He was starting to get frustrated with this ridicules game of keep away. He walked over to Kamaji's post.

"Are you sure, Kamaji?" he pushed. "Nothing specific or out of the ordinary that I should know about?" he asked impatiently.

Kamaji put his finger to his chin to display a face of ponder. "Mmm, nope; not that I know of. Lin should be on her way down with my breakfast; you can ask her." he replied. This was going to be _good._

Somehow, Haku got the feeling that no one was going to tell him without getting a reaction out of him. He wondered what could possibly be happening in the bath house that he couldn't know about. For, he knew someone was here and that it was a woman; he just wanted to know who she was and what she wanted.

Haku, then, heard the door slide open. "Chow time!"

He turned to see Lin come in with Kamaji's food and the basket of little candies for the soot balls.

"Hello, Lin," said Haku.

Lin's eyes turned to him. A sly smile stretched her lips.

"Hey, Haku," she greeted back. "What's up?"

Haku noticed the expression on Lin's face showed she holding back laughter.

He narrowed his eyes. "I could ask you the same thing." he snapped.

Lin snorted. "Jeez, what's got your tail in a knot?"

Haku's temper was beginning to boil; he was getting tired of all this nonsense. Someone was going to tell him what he was looking for, either willingly, or he'll have to force it out of them. He walked over to Lin.

"Ever since I got back, I've noticed that most of the workers seem to be in an excited mood. I overheard a few workers saying something about good news and deciding who should let me know." he said. His voice sounded like it was slithering through the hot air in the room.

Lin pretended not to care and began feeding the soot balls. "Really? Didn't notice."

"Yes," Haku growled. "Most of them concluded that _you_ should tell me of this good news."

Lin snickered. "Hmm," she hummed. "Nah, I don't think I will."

Haku snarled at her, viciously. "And give me one good reason why neither you, nor anyone else, can give me even the slightest explanation."

Lin rolled her eyes at the dragon's tantrum. "Chill out, Haku. We all really want to tell you, but where's the fun in that? Can you be mad at us for wanting to keep it a surprise for you?"

Haku's eyes lost, somewhat, of their frustration, but that didn't melt his cold expression. "As flattering as that sounds, Lin, I'd rather have you tell me." he hissed.

Lin chuckled and reached up to pat Haku on the head, for he was a good few inches taller than her. "Oh, patience, dragon; you'll find out soon enough."

Haku snorted with a pout and seethed out the door.

Lin sighed, dramatically. "If only he wasn't so difficult, this would be a lot more fun." she said as she walked over to Kamaji, pointing her thumb towards the door.

Kamaji eyed her. "Lin, do you even know where Haku's little 'surprise' is?"

Lin smiled, sheepishly. "Um, well, no. That's also why I came down here; I thought she got an early start and came to visit you."

Kamaji shook his head. "Sorry, Lin, I haven't seen her." He said.

Lin scratched her head. "Huh, that's weird. She was right next to me when we went to bed, then when I woke up, she was gone!" she said. Her voice was growing into panic.

Kamaji face-palmed himself. "Well, what are you doing, standing here and talking to me for? Go find her!" he cried.

"That's what I'm doing, boiler-man!" she shouted back.

Without another word, Lin dumped all the candy out for the soot, then stormed out of the sliding door.

Kamaji just kept staring at the door. Finally, he sighed. "She really needs a vacation." he said as he got back to work.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Reunion

For the rest of her shift, Lin spent the entire time searching for Chihiro, and avoiding Haku's splitting gaze. Sometimes she wished that dragon would mind his own business. After hours of unfortunate searching, the sun was beginning to rise. Lin decided to wait until later to look for her friend, thinking she might see Chihiro in the dorms.

Once she got to her room, Chihiro was nowhere to be found, but kneeling at the small table in the middle of the room was one of the other bath maids; she had light tan skin, shoulder-length, black hair, hazel eyes and a lanky figure. Her face seemed to have a strange sass to it. It was the girl from before, Yumi. She sat the small table with Chihiro's new little friend, Getsu, a black she found in the garden, in her lap, half a sleep.

She looked up at Lin and grinned. "Hey, girl," she said.

Lin sighed with her hand still on the door frame. "Hey, Yumi," she said as she slid the door closed. "Have you seen Sen anywhere?"

Yumi frowned and shook her head. "Nope. Dang, you still haven't found her?"

Lin walked over to the table and sat across from Yumi. "No, I've looked everywhere. I even tried asking Yubaba!" she exclaimed.

"And, wha'd she say?" Yumi asked.

Lin shrugged. "She didn't even answer; she forced me out of the room, two seconds after I asked her."

Yumi snickered. "Ah, well, whad'ya gonna do?" she said.

Lin sighed again. "Yeah,"

Yumi walked over to Lin's side, squatted down next to her right, and poked her in the shoulder with a smirk on her lips. "So…does 'you-know-who' know about Sen?" she asked.

Lin snorted. "No, but he knows somethin's up and he's being a real pain in my…" her complaining was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Thinking it was Haku; Lin groaned and got up to open the door. "For the last time, Dragon Boy, I'm not telling you anything!" she barked.

Before she could open the door, she heard a chuckle. "Lin?" came the sweet voice of a young woman.

Lin gasped and opened the door to show Chihiro. Her hair was slightly damp, but Lin didn't notice. "There you are!" Lin exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

Chihiro shrugged. "I was in the garden, working." she said, almost too aloofly.

Lin scratched her head. "But, I was in the garden, looking for you; didn't you hear me calling?" she asked.

Chihiro bit on her bottom lip for a moment. "Um, no, I guess not."

Lin sighed. "Well, you're here now. Come on." she said as she ushered Chihiro in their room.

Chihiro's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as she walked in and closed the door. "Um, Lin, you said 'Dragon Boy', didn't you?" she asked. "Y-you mean, Haku is here?"

Lin gave her a smirk. "Oh, yeah, he's here; he came back a little while ago." she said. "Don't worry, Sen, you'll get to see him tomorrow night."

Chihiro sighed as she at table, neighboring next to Yumi on the ride side of the table. Yumi squinted at Chihiro's hair. "Girl, why's yo' hair wet?"

Chihiro pinched her hair in between thumb and index finger. "Um… a…watering-can fell on my head." she said, uneasily.

Lin laughed as she sat down her original spot with her back to the door. "I guess those gymnastics classes didn't completely cure ya, huh?"

Chihiro nervously laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Yumi settled her elbows on the table. "Oh, can ya do all those flips and flexible tricks, like splits?" she asked, excitedly.

Chihiro smiled at her. "Oh, yes. Took me awhile, but I got it, eventually."

Lin joined in. "Do ya think you can do some tricks for us later?"

Laughing, Chihiro replied. "Sure, I'd love to."

Lin reached out her hand and poked Chihiro in the arm. "Now, don't you go missing again; not only did you scare me half to death, but I also had to fight off that annoying dragon several times to keep your arrival a surprise." she said with a playful scold.

Chihiro patted Lin's nearest shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll try." she chuckled.

After an hour or two of laughs and banter, exhaustion began to nip at Chihiro from the lack of the sleep. The three went to bed, thankfully, Chihiro's moonstone, that was still glued in her fist, stayed quiet the whole time.

As the thick silence of the bath house heaved through the air and the long hours of the morning and afternoon, the sun began to set. The sky, soon, took on its rainbow of red, orange, pink and midnight blue.

The flurry lights of the lanterns illuminated in the darkness, the shops soon became busy and steamed from the fresh dishes of foods and the river that separated the two worlds expanded and flooded the grassy fields.

As the Spirit World began to awaken, up in the second-to-top floor, right under Yubaba's floor, a young dragon aroused from his slumber. His room was somewhat large; the walls were brown, but looked black from the lack of sunlight with only a candle giving a comforting glow in the far, right hand corner. With a chestnut colored wardrobe next to a door that lead to the bathroom on the right side of the room and a bookshelf accommodated with different kinds of literature and a few potion on the left side of the room, it was relatively simple, but also charming. Sitting up in his futon, he ran his fingers through his green-charcoal hair, slightly untidy from sleep, and took a deep breath. He rose from his futon, his joints clicking and clacking from the long hours of stiffness.

All he wore was plain, white pants. His skin was tight, pale, yet still had this smallest tint of tan, and smooth with muscles that would be obtained from swimming. The little light of the candle highlighted against his broad shoulder, and flat stomach and chest. The wooden floor felt cold against his bare feet.

Haku rubbed the remains of sleep out of his eyes as he slugged into the bathroom. The cold, grayish tile whitened the bottoms of his feet. It was a simple lavatory; a bathtub with white a curtain and a shower head with it, a toilet next to the tub, and a white porcelain sink with a sliver rimmed mirror hanging above.

Haku drew back the flimsy curtain and turned the simple silver knob and pulled the small handle on the bathtub faucet to draw the water through the shower head. Clouds of steam rose and stuck to the air and walls as he threw his clothes aside and stepped in. The warm water soothed his stiff muscles and joints as it slid his smooth skin.

The dragon sighed as he ran his over his soaked locks. That feeling, that strange sensation; it was still there, just as it was when he went to sleep. He tried to ignore it, but it was useless. Obviously, the other workers still knew something that he didn't.

Tonight, Haku would get the information out of Lin, even if it killed him. With new found determination boiling in his blood, he turned the water off, hopped out, and rushed back to his bedroom with a blue towel wrapped around his waist. He went to his wardrobe and dressed in what looked like his usual uniform of a white outer shirt and blue tunic underneath. The only differences were the longer sleeves that stopped right above his wrists and the pants were white, while being tucked into the same black boots. His charcoal-green hair was neatly dried and brushed into its normal straight style. Using magic for hygiene and making oneself presentable was clearly handy in the time wise sense. Haku had enchanted his futon to re-make itself.

He could hear all the ruckus of the workers from downstairs; the musky, earthy smell of Kamaji's herbal formula for the baths reached Haku's sensitive nose.

Haku slide open his rice-paper bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. After closing the door behind him, he strolled down the hallway to the elevator. He passed threes doors down from the right of his and turned at a corner that lead to an elevator. Haku pushed the button and a couple seconds later, the doors opened. He stepped in and pulled the lever down. Once the doors shut, the elevator slid down the shaft.

The elevator stopped at the floor of the bath-maids and yunnas. Not even bothered by where he was, Haku walked around the corner and casually passed the empty dorms. As Haku rounded another corner, he came to the same staircase Chihiro had taken last night. From where he stood, he could see that costumers were already coming in and workers were constantly running back and forth to serve them.

Haku made his way down the stairs, the soles of his boots thumped against the wooden steps. Once he touched the floor, a good amount of workers paid him their respects. "Master Haku," most of them muttered as they bowed.

Haku sighed. "Please, there's no need for that."

With his approval, they went back to work. Haku shook his head and managed to walk through the rushing traffic of workers. He made it to the wall where workers were to turn over the name tablet to 'punch in'. He turned over his and saw that Lin's was turned over, as well. The dragon quickly hurried to find Lin, that he didn't even notice the name right beside Lin's.

As he walked through the bathing rooms, he spotted the assistant manager by the Foreman's desk. He looked to be in quite a good mood, just like everyone else.

Haku stalked up the desk to talk to the assistant manager. The assistant manager noticed his arrival and bowed, respectfully. "Good evening, Master Haku," he said.

Haku bowed his head. "And to you, as well," he replied. He looked around at the other workers.

"It seems like people are in a good mood tonight." he said in a questioning tone.

The assistant manager snickered, "So it seems."

Haku narrowed his eyes slightly. "Anyway, have you seen Lin?"

The assistant manager nodded. "Oh, yes, I believe I saw her head for the garden with our new worker." he said with a somewhat, sly smile.

Haku's eyebrows rose. "New worker?" he questioned. An image of Chihiro popped in his head, but was, then, pushed aside.

He bowed to the assistant manager. "Thank you," he said as he walked past the desk and around the corner to the entrance. He walked through the door as the small, blue curtains swept the sides of his head.

A few workers bowed at his presence when he walked across the bridge and through the gate door that lead to the garden. The green grass rustled against his boots and the noise of the costumers and workers faded as he went deeper and deeper into the garden.

Haku made it to the spot where he had given Chihiro her clothes and had comforted her when she was upset. That memory always made him smile, even if he was in his sourest of moods. He just stood there, admiring that simple spot until he heard voices.

They weren't that far, though still not close enough for him to recognize them. He followed it and walked a little further past the pig pen, until he came upon a large hedge with an opening for a doorway. Haku knew that there was a shed back there, but he didn't think anyone would actually use it.

He heard a voice again. It was the voice of a young woman, but it wasn't Lin. Haku walked to the hedge's opening and just when he was about to peek his head in to see who the voice belonged to, until another came from behind him.

"Hey, Dragon Boy," said Lin.

Haku jumped, but only at the slightest. Lin snickered at his reaction. "And, just what're you doin' out here?" she asked.

Smirking at her, Haku faced her and replied, "I was wondering the same thing about you."

Lin had a feeling something like this might happen and had carefully crafted every detail of her friends' reunion. After delicate planning it was time for Chihiro's part, even if Chihiro, herself didn't quite know. Lin was going to enjoy this.

"Well," she began. "I was just helping the new girl; it's only her second day." Lin was careful to leave out the word 'back'. "Would ya like to meet 'er?" she asked.

Haku glared at her. She was avoiding his interrogation; he just knew it.

"I'd rather have you answer my questions from last night." he hissed.

Lin gave him her best fake glare and put her hands on her hips, her fingers pressing into the salmon fabric.

Haku rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Fine, I'm guessing that's her back there?" he asked, as he pointed his thumb towards the hedge.

Lin smiled. "Yup," she said. "Well, go on." she pushed him to go.

Haku, then, walked to the opening and stuck his head in. He gave a small gasp. There, watering a rose bush stood a breath-taking young woman. She had the face that would bring a geisha to tears. She had her long, chestnut brown her hair in an elegant braid. Even the uniform she was wearing looked good. Her feet were bare and were the same pearly color as the rest of her skin. Her chocolate brown eyes didn't look up at him, for she was too focused on the roses as she continued her happy melody.

What seemed strange to him was that her beauty was like an enchantment, like it was actual magic, itself.

He, also, noticed that down by her feet was a black cat with crystals stringed around its neck and eyes of the eeriest blue. His contemplating on who she was paid off when he spotted the sparkling, purple hair elastic on the end of her braid.

Another small gasp escaped Haku's lips. His mind went blank; for years he had envisioned this moment. He had thought of all the thing he would say and acted out all the things he would do. But, now, that she was here, standing right in front of him, he was paralyzed.

His heart must have gotten impatient with him, for he had unconsciously spoken in a soft breath. "Chi-…Chihiro?"

Chihiro looked up from the red flowered bush after hearing her name. Her gaze trailed up at Haku. As his eyes met hers, Haku's heart jumped and his blood pulsed faster in his veins even faster.

Chihiro's mind quickly registered his presence. "Haku?" she breathed. She recognized him, immediately; it was hard to misread eyes like his.

For a few moments, they just stared at each other, until Haku made the first move.

"What a surprise," he said with an excited. He began to walk towards her. "It's been a long time."

Chihiro blushed when she realized that she was still staring at him. "Yes, too long." she replied, giving him the same smile.

In less than a second, he was right in front of her. Her brown eyes shined his reflection back at him as Chihiro had to slightly tilt her head upwards to look at him, for the top of her head reached him at mouth height. "Seven years," he said gently. "I've really missed you, Chihiro."

Chihiro set the tin watering-can beside her, between and Getsu, who was still seated next to the rose bush. The cat looked up at Chihiro, then Haku, and back at Chihiro.

Blushing even more, Chihiro, timidly, wrapped a lock of her hair around her finger. "I've missed you, too, Haku." she replied, shyly.

Haku smiled a little more at her. "Still timid as ever, I see." he chuckled. From the look of things, perhaps she wasn't as angry as he had expected.

Chihiro had been, painfully, holding herself back from jumping on him; she didn't want him to think that he was off the hook for keeping her waiting for seven years. But, now, she couldn't stand it any longer; she sighed and embraced him with her arms slung around his neck.

Haku was rather surprised at first by Chihiro's actions, but he, certainly, wasn't one to object. He happily wrapped his arms around her waist, noticing how slim and curved it was through her uniform.

As the two embraced in each other's arms, Lin watched from behind the gateway of the hedge, smirking. Her plan had worked out perfectly. She knew Chihiro wouldn't want anyone to be spying on them, so she left the two of them alone, for now.

As he tightened his arms around Chihiro, Haku wouldn't be more joyful. He couldn't believe that she was actually here. But, here she was; the girl, who had somehow snuck her way into his heart, was right here in his arms. He had only been holding her for no less than a few seconds, and now, something inside him didn't want him to let her go.

Haku was almost drowning in his thoughts, until a painful sting reached his right cheek and tore up his daze.

His face was graced in shock, eyes widened, risen eyebrows and mouth in the shape of a small crescent.

In contrary to Chihiro, who was looking at him as if he were an annoying thorn in her side. Their embracement gave him a feeling of false reassurance that she wasn't as cross with him as he thought. The angry red hand print displayed in his face was enough evidence to prove him wrong.

Chihiro's hand moved from its after-position of slapping Haku to being tucked into her crossed arms. Her bare foot tapped against the _dry_, green grass as she waited for the dragon's explanation.

Haku placed a hand over the red mark with the same shocked look on his face.

"U-uh," he stuttered.

Chihiro scowled at him. "'Uh'? That's all I get? You keep me waiting for seven, darn years, and all you have to say is 'uh'!" she yelled.

Haku flinched. Her words stung at him. He saw the little black cat back away with her ears slicked back in fear.

What horrified him even more were the tears that beginning to trickle down her flushed cheeks.

However, she still had that scorned look on her face. "Is keeping a promise such a challenge to you, or was I just not worth it?" she asked, there was a small, hopeless creak in her voice.

Haku felt his heart crack like a broken mirror; he didn't realize how badly this would affect her. He heard a strange sound come from out of nowhere; it was coming from the watering-can that was still sitting next to her. It was the sound of crackling ice freezing over.

Haku's conscious practically kicked his attention back into place. He saw Chihiro with her head bowed, messy bangs covering her eyes. Her lips and shoulders were trembling, slightly.

Chihiro was a little ashamed of herself; it has been a while since she let her emotions take over in such a manner. She did not even notice her accidental freezing of the water in the watering-can; even a few of the starry droplets on the roses looked a bit hard, but it was barely noticeable.

"Chihiro…I," he began. Haku, honestly, did not know what to say. His intentions were not to abandon her. No, never, but getting to the Human World was difficult enough, as it is, and every little chance he got would be ruined with work, or he would have to tend to his river.

"Can you just answer me this one question?" she asked in a quivering voice as she raised her head to uncover her eyes.

As her eyes looked up at him, Haku melted and nodded at the brown glassy, tear thickened orbs.

"When you…made that promise, did you truly mean it? Or was I just some lowly human you wanted to get rid of?" she asked. The question felt bitter on her tongue.

Haku was taken away by her question; he was shocked that such a thought would cross her mind. Of course, he had kept her waiting for a good seven years; it was possible that such thoughts would haunt Chihiro.

Finally, Haku spoke, "Chihiro, I have never, nor will I ever think of you as a lowly human."

Chihiro's face did not show much change; she was having a hard time believing him. "How do I know you're not just saying that?"

Haku sighed; she was being a bit difficult. He was not lying, but since Chihiro was older, she's lost her childish trust. "Why would I do that, Chihiro, after everything you have done for me?" he asked in a sweet voice.

While pushing her loosened hair behind her ear, Chihiro looked down with her pink cheeks to see her toes playing with the strands of grass beneath them. She pondered on whether to trust him, or not.

Then, suddenly, she realized something; it was just Haku. It was not like she was talking to some conman; she was being too distrusting. Seven years of secret keeping does that.

Haku's voice caught her attention. "Chihiro, I swear, I never meant to neglect you. When I made that promise to you, I meant it; I just didn't know how long it be." he said.

He took Chihiro's hand in both of his and grasped the small limb, gently. "Please, believe me, Chihiro, I wanted to see you, really, but I couldn't. For spirits, getting to the Human World is difficult, and work here and at my river."

Chihiro blushed as Haku tightened his grip around her hand. She was about to ask him why he was still working, but Haku's voice beat hers. "Now, I must ask you something." he said.

Chihiro looked him right in the eye, silently asking him to continue.

"Can you, ever, forgive me?" he asked, gently.

More tears were beginning to stream down her face; even if she tried, she could never stay mad at him. Her heart would never allow it.

She smiled at him and stood on her toes to reach up and whisper in his ear. "I'm sorry, too, Haku." she said, sincerely.

As her heels landed back on the ground, Haku gave her a puzzled look. "For what?" he asked.

Putting her free hand over both of his that clasped her other, Chihiro answered, "I had lost my faith in you and thought that you had forgotten me; a true friend doesn't do that."

He smiled down at her. "And, a true friend doesn't keep another friend waiting for seven years." he replied.

Chihiro removed her hand from atop of his and wiped her tears away. "So, are we okay?"

Haku released her other hand and brushed his thumb over her cheek to catch the last of her tears. "Of course, we are." he said.

The feeling of relief swept through Haku. Chihiro seemed to feel the same way. They both just stood there for a while, but not in an awkward sort of way.

Haku was, then, the first to speak up. "So, Chihiro, it's really good to see you again; how have you been?" he asked.

Chihiro chuckled nervously; she didn't exactly know how to answer that, so she just went casual. "Oh fine, just fine," she replied. "School is pretty much a breeze."

Haku grinned. "I suspect that means you're very intellectual." he commented.

Chihiro blushed. "I guess," she replied, shyly, as she smiled at him.

"What about you?" she asked. "You said that you were still working here; why's that?"

Haku scratched the back of his head with a sigh. "Let's just say I was still in a little bit of dept to Yubaba; it's a long story."

Chihiro shook her head. "Now I know why you took so long." she giggled. She learned the hard way that Yubaba isn't the type of vacation-giving employer.

Haku frowned. "Don't think the thought of visiting you never entered my mind, Chihiro. It did… several times." he said, with a small blush on his cheeks.

Chihiro gasped slightly. "Exactly how many times?" she asked.

The pink in Haku's cheeks darkened as he dipped his head for his bang to hide his eyes. "Every day," he gulped as he tried to suck up his embarrassment.

Chihiro's blush came immediately. "R-really?" she squeaked.

Haku, still very red in the face, nodded; he linked his hands behind his back and timidly scuffed the ground with his boots. "Actually, since you left, I-I don't think there has ever been a day that I didn't think about you."

"Haku…," Chihiro breathed; that had to be the sweetest thing she anyone has ever said to her.

She would have wanted to continue if it was not for all the blood that was quickly rushing to Haku's face, she decided to change the subject. "What about your river?" she added.

Like a waterfall, the entire blush left his face with only small remainders behind as he looked up at her. "What?"

"Your river," she said. "You said that you were working on it; how is that going?"

Haku beamed. One would have thought his face would start to hurt. "It's amazing, thanks to you, of course. You would love it; it's quite beautiful." he said in an excited tone.

One last hint of pink remained in his cheeks. "And, if you want to, w-would you…like to come visit it?" he asked. It was not every day, if any day, that Haku would ask that; he has never invited anyone to his river.

Chihiro winced, slightly. There was nothing she would want more than to say yes, but if she were to go, she could easily get wet. What if Haku asked her to swim; what would she say? Would it hurt his feelings if she said no?

She tucked some loose strands of hair behind her left ear. "Haku," she said. "I would be honored, but are you sure it's okay with you?"

Haku's expression did not change in the least; he had been awaiting this moment for years. "Would I be asking you if I wasn't?"

Chihiro did not know what to say. It was probably safe; she did not have to swim if she did not wish to. Haku would understand, hopefully.

"Yes," she answered with a shy smile. "I would love to."

Haku's own smile grew. "Wonderful, we should visit soon, considering the limited time." he stated.

Now, with a confused look on her face, Chihiro asked, "I beg your pardon?"

Haku replied, "Your limited time, here, in the Spirit World."

Chihiro took in a sharp breath. "Haku, you think I'm just visiting?" she asked.

"Yes, Chihiro," Haku said. "Why?"

Chihiro swallowed thickly. "Well, I was, kind of, planning on staying." she concluded.

Strangely enough, Haku, then, started to laugh. Had she not been so confused, Chihiro would have smiled; she had never heard Haku laugh before. It was silky and smooth, unlike her bubbly little laugh.

But, she was still confused at his sudden burst of laughter. "What's so funny?" she asked in a little annoyance. Chihiro, personally, didn't see anything humorous about her staying.

Haku had, abruptly, stopped laughing. "Wait, Chihiro, you're serious?"

Chihiro nodded with an annoyed expression. "Yeah, if I wasn't, I wouldn't be working as the gardener, now would I?" she snapped.

Shocked by her answer, Haku replied, "Chihiro, I'm sorry to say this, but you can't stay here."

Feeling a stab of pain in her heart, Chihiro talked back. "What? Why?"

"Because you need to go back to the Human World; you don't belong here." he explained.

Chihiro crossed her arms. "Gee, and I thought you were happy to see me," she hissed.

Haku grunted and took an urged step forward. "I **am** happy to see you!" he protested, with a hand over his heart.

Snapping her arms to her arms to her side, Chihiro clenched her fists, tightly. With a determined look on her face, she shot back, "Then, what are you whining about?"

"Chihiro, it isn't that I'm not glad to see you here; I am. But, it's a matter of doing what is right and what's best for you." Haku said.

Chihiro stood her ground. "If there was something that was best for me, Haku, don't you think I would be the first to know?" she argued.

Haku sighed. "Chihiro, please, don't make this any more difficult than it has to be. You're a human; you belong in the Human World and that's where you going." he said.

But, she was not human: Haku did not know that, though. Chihiro was getting frustrated. How, she wanted tell him, but she could not. Not only would she commit such a forbidden act, but something inside her just held her back. But still, she was not the one making this difficult; Haku was. She did not see this kind of argument coming, of course.

Haku took another step towards her. "I'm sorry, I really am, but I won't let you just walk away from your life and, possibly, put it in danger, Chihiro. I don't want to see you get yourself hurt; your human body is too weak to withstand this world for long." he said, sternly. Haku gasped and covered his mouth when he realized he had really put his foot in his mouth on that one.

Chihiro was offended. "Excuse me!" she cried. Her face was red and twisted from the seething rage that pumped in her blood. "If that's what you think, then watch this!" she snarled.

She marched into a wide open area that stood between the hedge opening and the shed. Haku watched with anticipation for what she was up to.

In one fluid movement, Chihiro flew backwards and landed on her hands. Then, her legs swung over and landed on the soft grass in front of her upside-down face. She quickly repeated this cycle three times. Fast as lightening, in about four seconds, she was a good eight feet away from the stunned dragon.

Chihiro did the same graceful flips forward and, in no time, her feet landed right in their beginning spot. With a cocky snort, she walked back to her original spot by the rose bush to find a flabbergasted Haku just silently standing there with his mouth hanging open from shock.

"Seven years of advance gymnastics has its benefits." she chuckled slyly as she placed her fingertips under Haku's chin and snapped his jaw shut.

Haku shook his head vigorously. "That was…impressive." he said, truly. She had certainly changed.

But, his face turned stern. "It doesn't matter, though. You're going back." he replied, stubbornly. Yet, Haku was trying to hide his amazement from Chihiro's performance, if he didn't, she would use it against him.

Chihiro was not about to back down. "No, I'm not. You don't understand, Haku. I'll have more of a life here than I ever did back in the Human World."

With strong determination, Haku wanted to make Chihiro see that staying in the Spirit World was not what was best, or as far as he knew, at least.

"What about your parents?" he pointed out. "Surely, they must be worried sick about you by now."

Even though Haku was not aware of his words' effect on her, Chihiro struggled as hard as she could to not burst out into tears in front of him.

Chihiro bit her lip and finally managed to speak. "My parents," she said, her voice cracked a little. "Are none of your concern."

It was always hard for Chihiro to talk about her parents; that is why she tried to hardly ever bring them up.

Haku was surprised by Chihiro's sudden sorrowful emotion. He wondered what it was that he said. "Chihiro…" he began.

But, she stopped him. "I've made my choice, Haku. And, even though I appreciate it that you're worried about me, this is my decision, deal with it." she said with new courage.

Haku shook his head. "No, I cannot allow that. Chihiro, I'm sorry, but it's been decided- you're going back." he said, almost demanded. He was losing his patience.

"Oh," she hissed. "And why is that? Just because you say so, the almighty Master Haku?"

A low growl rumbled in his throat at her mockery. His temper was at a slow boil. "It's been decided because it's the way thing are supposed to be. If you're so smart, Chihiro, you would know that." he snapped.

Chihiro felt her heart chip a little, but held back the perking tears in her eyes. "And if you are as 'superior' as you think you are, you would be wise enough to see that I know what's best for myself!" she shouted.

Haku's angry expression tightened. "Why are you so dead-set on staying?" he roared.

"Why _you_ so dead-set on sending me back?" she screamed back at him.

The same growl slipped through his teeth; he did not like it when people talked back to him.

From behind, Getsu watched in terror as the two screamed each other; she though that they were friends.

Chihiro shot a finger in his face. "Listen here, dragon," she growled. "No matter what you say, you don't own me. I'm not your slave, nor are you my employer. You have no power over me, giving you no right to make my decisions for me." she said angrily. She could feel frustrated and upset tears hang from the edges of her eyelids.

Why was he putting her through this? Why was Haku trying to make her leave? Did he not want her there? Her heart snapped when she thought that Haku had lied about what he said before and tried to do the same thing as last time.

Haku snorted. "Well, you know, whether you like it or not, Chihiro, although I may lack the power of authority over you, I do, however, surpass you, magic wise, and in rank. If you're not going to return willingly, I'll be able to drag you there, myself." he snarled.

Chihiro gasped. How dare he? Not only did he just insult her and her abilities, but also, he was practically telling her that she was powerless against him, a peasant, and that he had his own control over her. Chihiro was never one to enjoy the feeling of being someone's property. Even more, she was, now, convinced that Haku did not want her in the Spirit World and wanted her leave, and that was just plain heartbreaking. She could not stop the heavy tears from shedding down her cheeks. She ducked her head to hide the moist tracks on her face. The braid in her hair helplessly hung over her right shoulder.

Haku realized what he had done. He, suddenly, felt horribly guilty. He, as a gentleman, should not have talked that way to Chihiro, a lady. And, just a few moments ago, he referred himself as her friend and here he was, making her cry!

It was getting harder to hold back her sobs, but Chihiro managed to use the last small bit of self-control she had left to speak. "You're a liar," she squeaked in a tiny, sobbing voice. She tightly strapped her arms over each other across her chest as her back was hunched over.

Haku swallowed thickly; he had made a huge mistake. "Chihiro, I-I'm so sorry; I said things that I shouldn't have. I-I didn't mean-…" he was cut off. Before he could finish, Chihiro, quickly, darted past him.

In a haste to make her stay, Haku tried to reach out and grab her arm, but he missed. "No! Chihiro! Wait, please! I can explain!" he cried.

But, he was too late; Chihiro already ran out of the hedge opening and was, now, sprinting past the pig pens.

Haku stood there with his arm loosely stretched out and his hand still dangling in the air. He looked back at Getsu. Her pupils shrunk and she viciously hissed at him before following after her upset mistress.

He watched the cat go. Once she was gone, Haku groaned and smacked his forehead. "Way to go, Haku; now, she hates you!" he scolded himself.

The dragon then ran out of the shed area at go look for Chihiro.

As for Chihiro, she ran through the gardens and back into the bath house with tears still spilling from her eyes. Lin had spotted her from the foreman's desk and called for her, but Chihiro pretended not to hear. Getsu had miraculously caught up with her when Chihiro reached an elevator, thankfully it was empty. Chihiro stepped in with a hand over nose and mouth, let Getsu in as well, and pulled the lever up. The minute the doors closed, her legs gave out; she sat with her back against the wall, her face buried in the fabric that covered her knees and her arms hugging them to her chest. Getsu brushed against Chihiro's side as she wept and uselessly tried to resist her agonizing sobs.

"He hates me," she sobbed into the cloth as the elevator rose to the dorm level.


End file.
